Demon Slayer Fanfic
by Kai Travis
Summary: Demons tend to stay away from each other, but not this one. This particular demon made it her life mission to see the man who created her suffer in a greater hell unknown to man.
1. Chapter 1

"_All demons are the same. No matter the time, no matter the place. They are all the same_."

As a woman in a black kimono with the patterns of pinkish-white cherry blossom branches that covered her left side, while wearing what looks to be a scarf over her head covering her face up till the top of her nose, walks in silence, her footsteps only being heard every 3 steps she took. As her eyelids were closed, no demon saw how her eyes really looked. With the moon over her right shoulder, the people in front of her knew their time was almost up. Then in a split second, the head of one demon came flying off, causing the others to begin using their Blood Demon Art on this mysterious woman.

"What the hell?!" One demon spoke up. "You're…you're a…"

"That's right." The mysterious woman finally spoke up. "I'm I demon, such as yourself."

As her eyes opened, her eyes revealed how old she truly was. The color of her eyes were a bit faint, but they showed a hint of red. Upon seeing this, the remaining demons tried to run, only for the sun to appear beyond the treetops. Looking back, they noticed the woman gone. Then as the sun reached the woman's foes, they began to scream due the immense pain they felt from being burned alive. Gritting her teeth, the woman stayed within the shadows, hoping to find a place better suited to hide herself from the sun.

"_All demons are the same. No matter what they say, or the actions they take. The minute they sink their teeth into a human body, they instantly become addicted. Then they continue to consume until they can't. It's always the same. But not me. Muzan Kibutsuji, your mistake was me. If you hadn't gave me your blood, and so much of it, then you wouldn't be living in fear._"

Hiding in a basement of a random house, the woman removed the scarf to reveal her full black colored hair. In contrast to her red eyes, vein-like streaks appeared around her eyes, only to disappear with she began to breath and calm down. As she sat down, she placed her back against the wall of the basement and began to drift to sleep.

"If you hadn't given me your blood, you would not have to live in fear. But I will find you. Even if it take me 600 years more." The woman says as her body fall to the right and she fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**17 years later…**_

.

As the sun began to rise on a new day, two children: Tanjiro Kamado, a burgundy-red haired boy, and Nezuko Kamado, a young girl with black hair, who also happens to be Tanjiro's younger sister. These two were sleeping in a small cave, as someone began to watch them in silence in the farthest part of the small cave.

As Tanjiro began to wake up, his vision adjusted very quickly, and noticed someone within the shadows of the cave, curious as to who it was, he began to approach it only to stop from its voice.

.

"If you value your life, I suggest you stay there." The voice spoke, sounding like that of a woman. "Honestly, I wouldn't have cared less about what might have happened to you, but sadly I made a promise to someone who share's your appearance, as a deal to my survival. And just note that my name and my purpose are of no concern to you."

.

Caught off guard from this woman talking, Tanjiro's words were caught in his throat. The only words that came out from his mouth were:

.

"Who are you?" Tanjiro asked.

"As I have stated before, my name is of no concern to you." The lady responded back not once changing her tone of voice. "All you need to know at this moment is this: If you wish to survive and avenge your family, you will follow my orders to the T. Is that understood?"

.

Not necessarily waiting for a response, the woman had begun to dig a hole big enough to hold a person and placed herself in it. As that happened, Tanjiro asked yet another question.

.

"What were you doing at my house?"

"I was looking for a certain man, and he so happened to be there. You should consider yourself lucky along with your sister." The woman spoke up, as she poked her head out from the hole. "The man who attacked your sister missed the chance at changing her into a demon. As you two slept through the night, I injected her with a serum that reverses the effects of demon blood. It's still a work in progress, but she should still retain her humanity, and the ability to walk out in the sun."

"What do you mean?" Tanjiro asked not fully understanding what the woman had just said.

"You'll see for yourself. But for now, I suggest you find me a mode of transportation. I still wish to move during the day, but as a demon I cannot." The woman said as she began waving her hand, gesturing at Tanjiro to get moving.

.

Listening to the savior of his sister, as well as himself, Tanjiro set out to look for something to carry this mysterious woman in during the day.

.

* * *

_**A few minutes later…**_

_**.**_

With Tanjiro out of sight, the mysterious woman grabbed the sleeping Nezuko and pulled her into the depths of the cave, away from the sunlight. As she placed her hand on Nezuko's forehead, the woman began to breath in a mysterious way. As she did, she saw Nezuko's muscle structure, her blood vessels and her heart. Seeing nothing abnormal, the woman picked up Nezuko, exposing the young girl's neck. As she opened her mouth, the mysterious woman clamped down on Nezuko's neck sucking very little blood out. After about 10 seconds, the woman released Nezuko's neck from her clutches, before spitting out what looked to be a black clump. Continually spitting every few seconds the woman stopped after noticing the black substance no longer left her mouth.

.

"Geez, why must I be the one to take this responsibility?" The woman asked herself before exhaling in disbelief. "But we both did come to an agreement. Afterall, he was your ancestor, young Nezuko and Tanjiro Kamado."

.

* * *

_**Later in the day…**_

_**.**_

Upon hearing footsteps approaching, the woman went on the defensive and awaited to see who the enemy was only to hear a familiar voice.

.

"Um, I brought a basket." Tanjiro said. "Do you think that will do?"

"As long as I can remain away from the sunlight, anything will do." The woman answered, as she ran her hand through her long, black hair.

"Okay, just give me a moment." Tanjiro said as he pulled out his axe and began to cut it in half.

.

A few minutes later, Tanjiro brought in a basket wrapped in bamboo.

.

"So, you think you can fit in this?" Tanjiro asked skeptically.

"Are you suggesting that I'm too big for such a small, cramped space such as this?" The woman answered back with malice in her voice.

.

As she grabbed the edges of the basket, she flipped herself in, and in Tanjiro's eyes saw her fall into the basket, only to emerge looking smaller and younger.

.

"You…you…" Stuck with what to say, Tanjiro stuttered only to hear a familiar voice.

"You shrunk? How did you do that?" a young girl's voice spoke up, only to be revealed as Nezuko.

"Nezuko. You're awake." Tanjiro said with joy in his voice.

"Of course. My concoction works its wonders instantly." The woman responded with a younger tone than what she had before.

"Wait, that serum that you spoke of earlier, that's what saved my sister?" Tanjiro asked in a panic, only to fall backwards from a flick to his head.

"Will you calm down. As of this moment, you should not be worried about what I do. In fact, you should be worried about what you are not doing." The woman replied as she tapped the rim of the basket. "Where's the cap?"

"Oh, well…"

.

* * *

_**A few hours later…**_

_**.**_

As Tanjiro walked with a blanket covered over the basket, with his sister walking alongside him trying to match his pace, as they passed a woman and her child.

.

"Mt. Sagiri. Well it's just past that mountain over there. But are you sure you want to cross it now, especially with your sister and that much luggage?" The woman asked with concern in her voice. "If you'd like, I'll be glad to accommodate you for the night."

"Nezuko, can you still go?" Tanjiro asked as he turned his attention to his sister only to feel a slight kick to his back. "Ow. Hey."

"Are you alright?" The woman asked as she saw Tanjiro tumble forth just a bit. "Maybe it's best that you stay the night."

"No, it's fine." Nezuko spoke up, facing towards the woman. "We must get to Mt. Sagiri as soon as we can. Our family is already worried as it is. We don't wish to worry them any longer."

"Oh, is that so?" The woman said seeming to understand the situation. "Well please be careful." As she saw the two siblings walk away from her house, she yelled a few final words at their backs. "People get lost on that path. Try not to lose your way, okay?"

.

Thanking her for her concern, Tanjiro turned around and waved at her before continuing forward.

.

* * *

_**As the sun set…**_

_**.**_

Removing herself from the basket, the woman stretched and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

.

"Ha, it feels great to be out of there." She said as she continuously stretched her sore muscles. "Thank you for the transportation."

"No problem." Tajiro said as he placed the basket back on his back.

.

Blinking continually, Nezuko's eyes adjusted to the light that shone from the moon above. Looking at her surroundings, she began to noticed a few different colors around her.

.

"Excuse me, miss…" Nezuko said before finally realizing that she didn't know the woman's name.

"What is it, Nezuko?" The woman spoke up.

"Um, well…I'm starting to see different colors." Nezuko said before she completely caught the attention of the woman.

"You mean fog." The woman said before stopping in her tracks. "Someone's injured."

.

As the woman said this, she began to run off in the direction of the dark red fog that Nezuko saw in her eyes. Looking at each other, Tanjiro and Nezuko began to run after the woman, up a flight of stairs leading to a shrine, only to be stopped by the woman just before the door.

.

"What's going on? Isn't someone injured? We should help them." Tanjiro said only to feel Nezuko's hand on his sleeve shaking uncontrollably. "Nezuko?"

"There's so much red. I can't see any other colors." Nezuko said as her breath shook with each word that left her mouth.

.

Running past the woman, Tanjiro opened the sliding door to the shrine.

.

"Are you okay?!" Tanjiro yelled as he witnessed a horror, he wished he never saw.

.

As the carcasses of several people laid on top of each other, what looked to be a man began tearing open the skin of one and began to munch on it, only to stop midway and turn his attention towards the open door.

.

"What? This is my turf." The demon said as he began licking his fingers. "If you crossed into it, then you must be prepared to die."

.

As the demon said this, he noticed 3 people standing in front of the door but confused as to why they all smell of demon and human. Not taking any chances, the candle blew out and he rushed straight towards Tanjiro only to be launched straight towards a tree to the right of the shrine. Getting up from the attack, he noticed the long, black-haired woman's eyes shining a bright red.

.

"So, you were the demon?" The demon spoke up. "Why the hell are you with those human?"

.

The woman never spoke, only readied herself for the inevitable fight that was to occur. Covering her mouth from spilling anything, Nezuko turned around from the horror, and turned her attention towards the two demons. As the demon with fresh blood on his hands ran towards the woman, Nezuko noticed him moving a lot slower than usual. Confused by this, Nezuko turned to her brother.

.

"Nii-chan, are you seeing this?" She asked.

"Seeing what?" Tanjiro said as he turned his attention towards the two demons, only to see them disappear, then reappear in another location.

"They're moving slowly in my eyes." Nezuko said as she continued to look at the ensuing battle.

.

For what seemed like minutes, the demon tried to one-up to woman, only for his world to become upside-down just seconds after he approached the woman. As his body fell, the woman looked at his head that hung from the strands of his hair, before giving a menacing look.

.

"You…next time you try to approach these children, I swear I'll make your life a living hell." The woman said before the demon came to a conclusion.

"No way. You're Lily, the demon hunter. The one he's looking for." The demon spoke now realizing that he was screwed.

"If you know me, then that is bad news for you." Lily, the now named mysterious woman, said she dropped the demon's head, and launched it with a full-powered demon kick.

.

Distracted by the flying head, Lily heard Nezuko yell out to her.

.

"Miss Lily, look out!" But the warning came too late, as the demon's body kicked Lily in the stomach.

"Leave her alone!" Tanjiro said as he pulled out his axe and ran towards the headless demon and tried to injure it to give Lily enough time to focus.

.

But without warning, Tanjiro was placed back where he started. Wondering how he was moved, he turned to his right and noticed Lily standing there without saying a word. Confused as to why she did that, Tanjiro was about to speak only to hear Lily grunting. Turning his attention back, he noticed Lily still fighting the headless demon. Now completely confused at this sudden twist, all Tanjiro could do was stare in confusion.

.

"Don't just stand there!" Lily yelled at Tanjiro. "Throw me the axe!"

"Here!" Tanjiro yelled back as he launched the axe in Lily's direction, then grabbing both his sister's hand and Lily's double. "Come on, Nezuko."

.

Now extremely annoyed at this, Lily grabbed the headless demon's arm and launched him towards a tree again, only for the demon to twist his body mid-air and land safely on the tree and launched himself back at Lily. Seeing this opportunity, Lily gritted her teeth together and began to breath outwards. In doing so, she lifted the axe above her left shoulder, and swung down with such ferocity that it split the demon's body in two from the right shoulder to the left abdomen. After finishing with that, Lily turned to Tanjiro.

Returning back to the shrine, Lily noticed Nezuko and Tanjiro digging up holes just big enough for one body, before struggling to place it in. As that happened, Lily's other half helped the young girl place the body in the hole, before rushing off to dig another. Seeing this, the original Lily was confused at the fact that her double had a mind of its own. Still, without having the thought linger on her mind for too long, Lily walked up to the double.

.

"Time to disappear." She said only for the double to shake its head in disagreement. "What?"

"Hey, Lily. Do you think you can help me out again?" Nezuko asked only for the double to react.

"Hold on." The original Lily said, as she grabbed hold of her double.

.

Confused as to why she did that, Nezuko was about to speak up only to see the copy's hair change from a night black color, to a pure white color. Satisfied with the result, Lily spoke up.

.

"This one will be known as Kaguya. Alright?" Lily asked only for "Kaguya" to shake her head in agreement.

"Kaguya. I like that." Nezuko said as Kaguya ran to her like a child running to its mother.

.

* * *

_**A few minutes later…**_

As the sun rose over the new day, Lily and Kaguya stayed within the shadows of the small, now bloodied shrine, as Tanjiro and Nezuko buried the bodies of the innocent people. As the two began to pray, Nezuko opened her eyes as she felt a pebble being flicked to her forehead. Looking up, Nezuko saw nothing other than a shadow looming over her. Turning her attention away from the make-shift burial, Nezuko looked behind her only to see a man in a ocean blue haori, with white clouds, and a red tengu mask that the man wore on his face.

.

"Nezuko, who's that?" Tanjiro asked as he got up to his feet and turned his attention towards the man.

"Don't know. When I turned around, he was already there." Nezuko answered.

"So, you must be the children I've read about." The man answered only to be astonished by Nezuko speaking. "Last I read, I heard your sister had turned into a demon." The man said as he turned his attention towards Tanjiro.

"Oh, well…" Tanjiro was about to speak up, only for the conversation to abruptly stop and change with a few words.

"The man has a name. It's Sankonji Urokodaki." Lily spoke up from the shadows of the shrine.

"Oh, hold on." Tanjiro said as he grabbed the basket used to carry Lily in.

"Thank you, Kamado." Lily said as she entered in the basket, while Tanjiro began to tie the heavy blanket on top.

.

As he finished tying the blanket on top of the open basket, Tanjiro was just about to place the basket's straps on his shoulders when he felt a pull on his arm. As he turned around, Nezuko began pulling on the basket.

.

"I'll take it. So, you rest now." Nezuko stated.

"Oh, that's fine. I can handle it." Tanjiro smiled only to see a pout form on his sister's face.

"I'll take it." Nezuko said as began pulling on the basket.

"Not to interrupt you two, but what Kaguya?" Lily's asked through the closed blanket.

"Oh, that right." Tanjiro said. "We can put her in with you."

"No." Urokodaki stated as he turned his attention towards Nezuko. "Grab her and let's go."

.

* * *

_**Half an hour later…**_

Completely tired from running, but still continuing Nezuko tried her best to follow behind Urokodaki and Tanjiro, who seemed, from her perspective, to be doing just fine while holding Lily in the makeshift basket. Seeing this, Nezuko didn't stop, but placed more effort in each step she took, trying her best to close the distance between her and her brother.

.

"_It's amazing. Nii-chan is so amazing, I'm practically sweating here._" Nezuko said to herself, as she began to see her brother slowing down. "_What is he doing?"_

_._

Keeping pace with his sister, Tanjiro began to run beside her.

"Can you go on?" Tanjiro asked through his puffed breaths.

"Yes, I can." Nezuko huffed before continuing. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

.

Tanjiro still insisted on carrying Kaguya, but Nezuko wasn't having any of it, and began to run a little faster, trying her best to catch up with the fast-old man.

.

* * *

_**Around dusk…**_

_**.**_

Both panting heavily at this point, Nezuko and Tanjiro were having trouble just gulping down fresh air into their lungs. But if they thought that was it, the two Kamado siblings were in for a surprise.

.

"Place your friends in the room and follow me." Urokodaki stated, only to hear Lily's voice.

"Nezuko, stay with me. I'm pretty sure Urokodaki only set up the training camp for one person." Lily said as Tanjiro placed the basket on the floor.

"Alright." Nezuko answered.

.

As Tanjiro and Urokodaki set off into the mountain, Nezuko began removing the sling off her shoulders and placed the infant looking Kaguya down. Seeing her asleep, confused Nezuko quite a bit, but for Lily she didn't seem that phased by it.

.

"Aren't you worried?" Nezuko asked.

"About what?" Lily answered as she stayed within the shadows of Urokodaki's window, watching the light from the sun disappear behind the mountains.

"Kaguya. She's asleep. You're acting as if this is natural, is it?" Nezuko asked again, as she rose to her feet.

"It's natural for me, since I don't usually eat human flesh." Lily responded.

"You don't?" Nezuko answered with confusion in her voice. "I thought all demons do?"

.

Fully turning her attention to the young Kamado girl, Lily walked past the window and opened the door.

.

"The sun's hiding perfectly." Lily responded before looking her over her shoulder. "Come, it's time for your training."

"Mine?" Nezuko asked, afraid of the answer that will follow.

.

* * *

_**A few hours later…**_

Being knocked towards the ground with such a force, caused Nezuko to gasp outwards, causing a trail of saliva to protrude from her mouth as Nezuko faced the ground. As she looked up, Nezuko saw Lily dusting off her kimono without a care in the world.

.

"What's this training for anyways?" Nezuko asked as she tried to calm her rapid breathing.

"Unlike your brother, you've hardly grasped the strength and stamina to fight." Lily answered as she began twirling the wooden sword she held in her hand. Then as she placed the sword on her shoulders, Lily continued to speak. "So, I'm just here to make sure you have the basic knowledge of what you need."

"Of what I need?" Nezuko repeated with confusion. "I don't get it."

"I overheard your conversation with your brother, during my duel with that demon." Lily began to recall what Nezuko said. "You said you saw us moving slowly, not many people could. So, I'm just going to continue to beating you senseless until your body can catch up with your eyes and me, that's all." Lily finished her sentence with a smile before swinging the sword down violently onto Nezuko.

.

This continued until Nezuko couldn't get up any longer. Seeing her give up, Lily threw the sword away and walked up to the unconscious Nezuko. Picking her up, Lily began to hear the way she breathed. Hearing little pulses in Nezuko's breathing, Lily sighed in defeat.

.

"Looks like we still have a long way to go." Lily spoke to no one. "It took him quite some time, but she's saw his dance, if anything she has potential to finish the Hinokami Dance."

.

Taking Nezuko back into the house, Lily noticed the sun rising over the mountain tops. Smiling, Lily returned to the house, placed Nezuko in the futon and just watched her rest, placing her hand down on her chest to prevent her from breathing in too much and to condition her to breath in the way Lily imagined it.

.

"Just a little longer, Nezuko. And you'll be a fine Dancer."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Some time prior to story…**_

A woman who looked to be Lily, but with bright red, short hair, was looking at the full moon, while humming a tune to herself. As she hummed, a man approached her from behind.

.

"You look to be lively as ever, even when you're sick." The man spoke.

"An illness such as this can't possibly…" The woman coughed harshly that it caused her throat to hurt. "Maybe, I should rest." She answered with a weak smile.

.

Being helped into a futon, the woman laid down and looked at her caretaker.

.

"I can't thank you enough, Tsunayoshi." The woman thanked the now named man Tsunayoshi.

"Of course. Anything for my precious wife…" Tsunayoshi spoke a name but it never registered in the woman's ear. "Afterall, you are my precious Spider Lily."

.

_**Present Time…**_

.

Slowly waking up from her slumber, Lily opened her eyes to see that Nezuko was nowhere to be seen. Opening the door slightly, she noticed both Tanjiro and her eating with Urokodaki. Seeing this, she shut the door and walked towards the window. Opening it slightly to allow a sliver of light to enter, she then placed her arm in it only to see it not burn. Sighing at the sight, Lily closed the window, and proceeded to placed herself under the futon's cover.

.

"To think you gave me the one thing that man wants the most. Just where did you get such a thing, Tsunayoshi? Where did you get it, indeed?" Lily spoke to herself with a smile on her face before succumbing to the warmth of the blanket and falling asleep once again.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

Doing the same routine, Lily began swinging the wooden sword, and Nezuko tried her best to dodge it. Of course, it ended with Nezuko becoming more bruised than the previous day.

.

"Alright that's enough for today." Lily spoke up when she noticed Nezuko struggling to get up.

"No." Nezuko said as she struggled to her feet. "I can still go."

.

Seeing her passion drive her actions, Lily smiled and told Nezuko one thing before continuing.

.

"Listen, Nezuko. When it comes to frontal attacks, don't think about it, just move." Was all Lily said before rushing up.

.

As she did, Nezuko prepared herself but still to dizzy from the previous assaults, Nezuko lost a little balance, only to feel something swing past her. Realizing this, the words Lily had told her finally begun to click. Not thinking of the attacks, Nezuko began to move her body, inch by inch. Step by step, moving away from the attack of the deadly blade. Seeing this, Lily became more impressed, she began to speed up the swings of the blade. Trying to keep up with Lily's speed, Nezuko continued her footwork and dodging, getting scratched and smacked ever so often, until the Nezuko ran out of breath and the blade was at her neck.

.

"We've got to work on your breathing. But other than that, good job." Lily answered after bringing the blade down.

"Okay, so what's next?" Nezuko said as she sat down trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, I'm done. You're going to be learning from Urokodaki. And just note, he's going to be a lot tougher than I was." Lily smiled.

"Huh?" Nezuko questioned Lily's motives.

.

But all Nezuko got as a response was a smile. A smile that seemed to be hiding a villainous attempt.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

Under the tutelage of Urokadaki, Nezuko was being brought up to speed on the training that he had put Tanjiro in. Still seeing that there was time, Urokodaki walked back to his house. As he entered his house, he noticed Lily sitting in the corner of the shadowed room, sipping tea.

.

"To think I'd see you again." Urokodaki said.

"What? Did you think your master will die that easily?" Lily said with a smug-like smile as she answered Urokodaki.

"No, I had faith you'd survive." Urokodaki answered.

"Still as short sentenced, I see." Lily replied as she looked at Urokodaki's red tengu mask. "You seem to have something on your mind, what is it?"

"Nezuko Kamado." Was all Urokodaki said.

"What about her? You know you have to be more specific." Lily answered.

"I have a letter stating that she was a demon. Just wished to know what happened." Urokodaki answered his former master.

"I simply gave her an antidote that reverses the effect of Kibutsuji's blood." Lily answered.

"Then, why not give it to the Demon Corps?" Urokodaki asked.

"Because, it will only reverse the effects of those who have recently turned into a demon. The time limit is 3 days." Lily answered before continuing to sip her tea. "And even if I did, they'd probably discard it. You should know how they feel about demons."

"I do. I'd just wish to see your thoughts, is all." Urokodaki responded.

.

After a few moments of silence, the two just sat there and waited for both Tanjiro and Nezuko to return.

.

_**Several Hours Later…**_

.

Completely winded, tired and sore, both Tanjiro and Nezuko slept with a face that just screamed pain. And sitting next to them with a soft smile on her face, Lily placed her hands on both Tanjiro and Nezuko's and began soothing their heads to try and give them comfort. After several minutes, Lily turned her attention towards Kaguya, her other half. Still looking like that of an infant, Kaguya slept with a peaceful face, unaware of Lily's actions. Leaving the room after a few minutes, Lily was greeted by the smell of Urokodaki's cooking.

.

"Still great a cooking I see." Lily spoke in a soft voice as to try not to wake the sleeping children.

"Mm." Was all Urokodaki said.

.

Not liking the response, Lily began to pull on Urokodaki's left cheek. After a few minutes, Lily let go.

.

"Can I ask for one more favor, Sakonji?" Lily asked.

"What?" Urokodaki answered.

"Can you watch the two Kamado siblings." As Lily said this, she lifted her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around, while laying her head on them. "I hate to be honest, but I'm getting old. I can't keep doing this."

.

While Lily spoke, Urokodaki just listened.

.

"And honestly, just watching the two of them had taken its toll on me. I'm afraid I don't exactly have the strength that I once had." Lily finished speaking to hear Urokodaki's response.

"That is the reason for Kaguya." Urokodaki responded.

"Yes." Lily answered. "Honestly, I've tried using my breaths, but in the end, I just coughed up a storm. If I'd tried anymore, I'd have to be relying on my demon blood."

"I see." Urokodaki said. "Your more human, and Kaguya's more of a demon. Then that means…"

"That's right. She is…" Lily spoke, but in Urokodaki's ears it was almost as if she never said a word.

"Do they know?" Urokodaki asked.

"They don't. And it's best that they don't." Lily replied. "And as long as she doesn't bleed, they won't find out."

.

As Lily looked at the old man, she began to crawl towards him. She then placed her hand on his cheek, smiling sadly, causing a tear to roll down Urokodaki's face.

.

"Can I see that face of yours, one last time?" Lily said as she placed both of her hand on Urokodaki's red tengu mask.

.

Without responding, Urokodaki placed his hands on top of Lily's and moved his tengu mask up. Seeing the old man's face once again, caused Lily to smile brightly.

.

"There he is." Lily answered. "My lost student."

"Mm." Urokodaki responded.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A few months later…**_

.

* * *

Lily had said her goodbyes to Urokodaki and the Kamado siblings before leaving them completely. But before she left in the shadows of the night, she turned her Urokodaki and just stared, but the look in her eyes was enough for him to understand.

.

"We will miss you, Lily." Tanjiro spoke up. "Even though our time was short, it was great."

"Save those words for another time, Kamado." Lily answered before turning to Nezuko. "Remember the breath I taught you."

.

After saying those words, Lily disappeared in the blink of an eye. Confused by the words she said, Nezuko turned to Urokodaki.

.

"When did she teach me a breathing technique?" Nezuko asked.

"When she trained you." Urokodaki answered before walking back into the house. "Come on get some rest. Tomorrow, we start training you both for the Breath of the Water."

.

As they the two Kamado siblings rushed in after their master, they never once looked back. Seeing this after jumping into the trees above, Lily rushed off to a certain boulder a bit ways away from Urokodaki's house. Seeing it, Lily smiled and began walking forward to it, but with each step, she began to notice figures within the shadows that the trees created. Turning her attention towards one, the figure rushed off before it was even seen. Seeing this, Lily rushed off after it, keeping pace on her breathing and heartbeat. As she began to breath inwards, a cough was not far behind, but Lily gulped it down and continued to push forward, until she saw herself in front of the giant boulder.

.

"You shouldn't be here, demon." One of the figures spoke as he sat on the boulder.

"I should beg to differ." Lily answered as she turned her attention towards the figure. His appearance being that of a young teen, wearing a colorful jacket, with peach colored hair. He also wore a fox mask with a thick red rope holding above his face with a scar on the right side of the mask, near the mouth. "Why are the 13 of you here? To kill me?"

"Exactly. We swore that no matter what may happen to us, we would always protect Urokodaki." The boy responded.

"Is that so? Then I have nothing to fear." Lily answered as her hair had begun to change color from black to a bright red. "Then, I can leave in peace."

"Who ever said anything about leaving?" The boy answered.

"Urokodaki said so." Lily answered as her eyes went from their dark mahogany red eyes to a bright crimson red.

"Urokodaki said so? I don't believe that." The boy answered.

"Believe what you want. But I have a favor to ask." Lily continued as she closed her eyes and opened them again to reveal them going back to their original color. "If Urokodaki finishes training the Kamado siblings, can you train them?"

.

Angered by what she was saying, the boy scoffed.

.

"What makes you think I'll do what you say?" The boy answered with malice.

"Because you have no choice, Sabito." Upon hearing his name come out of a demon's mouth, the boy Sabito just stood still as Lily walked up to him. "I expect good thing from you. I hope to see you in the afterlife. Take your time, though."

.

Turning around with such a force, he noticed Lily's figure struggling to walk away. Noticing this, Sabito spoke out.

.

"You're not like other demnos are you?!" The only response he got from her was a gentle wave and a gentle smile to go with it.

.

Minutes after she left, a small, nimble girl with aqua colored eyes, and a floral patterned kimono sat upon the giant boulder and smiled. She then began to giggle at the sight of Sabito.

.

"What the matter, Sabito? You're looking a bit flushed." The girl responded, when Sabito turned around and began to walk away.

"I just never thought I'd see a demon struggle to survive." Sabito answered the young girl. "Let's get going Makomo."

"Yeah." Makomo answered as she jumped off the boulder and disappeared into the distance.

.

_**2 months later…**_

* * *

.

Sitting within the shadows of an abandoned house, Lily just sat against the wall staring into the distance. As she did, memories began to fill her mind, one after another.

.

_**Some several hundred years ago…**_

* * *

.

A young boy had begun to watch as several kids were playing with the snow. Wanting to be a part of that, he began to walk forwards only to collapse after a few steps and fall straight into the snow-covered ground. As his began to breath for air, the boys rolled himself onto his back and looked up toward the sky. Sighing with discontent, the boys closed his eyes only to see a shadow cast over him. Opening them, he noticed a figure standing above him. This figure was covered from head to toe. There was no skin shown whatsoever. Even the person's face was covered. As he blinked at the sight, he began to hear the person's voice through his heavy heartbeat.

.

"Oh, can you hear me now?" The voice of a woman asked. "That's perfect. You're making progress." As the woman said this, she lifted the young boy off the ground and brushed off the snow that landed in his hair. "Your hair looks like spider legs. That's amazing." Trying to keep conversation, the woman just spoke only to be interrupted by another woman calling out a name.

"Rui! Rui!" The woman called out, as she ran up to the covered figure and the young boy. "Rui!" The woman stated as she ran around to the opposite side of the boy. "You know you shouldn't be out here. Your body's too weak."

"Mother." The boy named Rui said.

"I take it that this is your child?" The woman asked.

"Yes, he is." Rui's mother answered. "And who might you be?"

"I happen to be a doctor." The woman answered.

"A doctor?" Rui's mother repeated.

"Correct, I've dealt with cases such as his before." The woman answered as she moved her head to look directly at Rui's mother. "If you'd like, I can be of some assistance to your son."

"You can? Then please. I'll pay as much as I can for your services." Rui's mother said in a rush.

"Very well, we can talk about payment later. For now, let's get him back inside." The woman answered.

.

_**Later that night…**_

* * *

.

Removing all the thick, heavy clothing she had on, the woman began to introduce herself.

.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, because I'm what you called 'old-fashioned'." The woman stated as she removed the head-piece to her heavy clothing, revealing her bright red hair that ran down all the way until fading to black at the ends. "My name is Lily. And I'm a doctor who specialize in helping all sort of infections and bodily diseases. I also happen to know how to help people with weak bodies, such as your son."

"Is that so?" A man answered, most likely Rui's father. "So, about the payment?"

"Right down to business I see." Lily answered. "Normally I would charge daily, but in this instance, since he showed me such passion to move around, I'll charge you nothing."

"Are you serious?" Rui's mother jumped in. "Are you sure?"

"I'll most likely need some place to stay, preferably away from any sunlight, since I have a skin condition that has no cure." Lily answered.

"Skin condition. What type?" Rui's father asked.

"When my skin comes into contact with sunlight, it begins to burn. But enough about me, this is about your son, is it not?" Lily changed the topic back to the boy named Rui.

.

As the parents and Lily continued to converse, she began discussing the therapy Rui was to partake in. As the parents began to think about it, they had come to a conclusion fairly quickly and agreed to it. Thanking them, the father had set up a room with boards covering the windows, as to not let sunlight in, and began to ask the times of the therapy, so they can prepare for it. Giving the times and the facts, the parents eagerly waited for the next day.

.

"Oh, before you leave." Lily called out to Rui's father.

"Yes, what is it doctor?" Rui's father called out only to see Lily pull out several candles.

"Place these in every corner of your house. I tend to do this out of habit, so please forgive me." Lily answered with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine. If you feel comfortable with this, then will just have to get used to it." Rui's father answered as he took the bag of candles.

.

Walking into Rui's room, Lily noticed Rui looking at the moon from his futon. Walking up to him, Rui turned his head to see Lily.

.

"Are we starting?" Rui asked trying to hide excitement.

"That's right." Lily answered smelling his excitement emanating from his body. As she did, she began to roll up her sleeves.

.

Laying on his stomach, Rui felt Lily's hand rubbing all over his back. The skin on her hand felt soft, yet firm. As Lily continued, she moved from his back to his shoulders, then his left leg, then the right. After stopping for a moment, Rui looked back to see Lily writing something down before continuing.

.

"If your wondering, all I'm doing is stretching your muscles and applying slight pressure on your joints since you've hardly move around." Lily answered without making eye contact. "Alright, I need you to flip around. I'm going to work on the front."

.

Listening to his caretaker's command, Rui flipped over, but felt no weight preventing him from doing so. In fact, it felt as if he was relieved of a huge weight, which always held him back. Seeing the astonished look on his face, Lily smiled.

.

"Feels relieving, doesn't it?" Lily answered before continuing with the pressured massage.

"It does." Rui said as he continued to look at the roof.

.

After a few moments of silence, Lily just continued the massage. And this continued throughout the night, just the two of them, in this silent, peaceful night.

.

_**Present Day…**_

* * *

.

Awaking from the past memory, Lily began to blink her eyes to ensure nothing was in them. Seeing how the sun had finally set beyond the horizon, Lily got up and continued on her path. Reaching a small village, she walked into an empty soba shop and just sat herself. In a matter of moments, a man walked out from back and walked up to Lily.

.

"Normally people don't come in this late, but either way what can I get you, ma'am?" The man asked.

"Just a bowl of udon with grated yam." Lily said trying to not make eye contact with the man.

"Sure thing." The man answered as he began to write it down and walked away.

.

Sighing a sigh of relief, Lily closed her eyes to calm herself down. And for what seem just like a minute, the man then came back and placed the bowl in front of her.

.

"Here your udon with grated yam, ma'am." He answered.

"Oh, thank you." Lily said as she heard the bowl tap the table.

.

After paying the man for the food, Lily had begun to eat. With a look of dissatisfaction appearing on her face, Lily grumbled but continued to eat. After several minutes of trying to enjoy the food, a dark ominous smell and color passed in front of her. Not looking up, Lily began to act as if it never existed, at least until it spoke up.

.

"I'm glad I get to see you again, my queen." The figure spoke, as it did, its voice was enough to send fear running down people's spine. But not Lily, as she continued to eat.

.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching, with Lily's quick thinking, she dropped her bowl causing the owner of the establishment to turn his attention toward her.

"Oh, ma'am. Are you okay?" The man asked.

"Oh, yes I'm fine. That was clumsily of me. If anything could you grab me another, I'll be sure to pay for the damage."

"Oh, it's fine. As long as you enjoyed the udon." The man answered as he began to pick up the bowl, then walked away.

.

After ensuring that no one was around, Lily then spoke, still without making eye contact.

.

"I'm surprised your still taking the risk of speaking to me, when just a few hundred years ago, you said we'd never see each other again." Lily spoke with such malice that it would scare a bear, who was at the brink of starvation.

"The past is the past. But my deal still stands." The man spoke with confidence.

"That ego of your is what made me a threat, in the first place. And don't think I ever came alone." Lily answered. "My Stars will outshine your Moons."

.

Hearing a click of a tongue, Lily turned to where the figure was only to see it gone from sight. In that moment, the owner walked out with another bowl in hand.

.

"Here you go ma'am. Another bowl." He answered as he turned his attention towards the opposite of the table. "My guess is that he left?"

"Yup, said something along the lines of 'I hate his udons'." Lily replied with a smile on her face. "I thank you once again, for the delicious food, and for the help."

"Don't mention it, Lily. After all, a star will always shine brightly for the sake others." The man stated as he turned to his right revealing a star-like emblem on his neck, before leaving to lock the door for the night.

.

As he did, Lily continued to eat in peace knowing that there was always a star that showed the right path.


	5. Chapter 5

_**On Mount Natagumo, several years prior…**_

.

Two demon girls had begun to run away with their hands holding each other. Not showing signs of letting go. As they ran, one of the girls remembered the conversation they had just hours prior to their sudden departure.

.

_**The day before…**_

.

"Huh?" The demon girl responded as she looked at her new family member. Her appearance looked like that of her younger brother, completely milky pale, with snow white hair. Her eyes are a pure white with only her silvery pupils separating them from her sclera. Her face also possess several red dot-like patters above and below her eyes. "What do you mean run away?"

"When Rui gave me his blood, I saw a glimpse into his memories." This demon said as she looked at her new "family member" who shared a similar appearance with her as did the rest of the family.

"What memory?" The new sister asked.

"A human woman helped him gain his strength back." The eldest sister answered. "When he was human."

"His strength back. But wasn't he always a demon?" The youngest sister asked.

"No, we demons are created by that man." The eldest answered. "But maybe that woman had a family, and if we find that family we could be safe. Safe from Rui, from the demon slayers. From everything."

"I don't know." The youngest answered they only way she could at the moment.

"I know it's a long shot, but Rui betrayed that woman. I think it's time, as his 'family', to pay back the amount of sweat and time Rui took from her." As the eldest said this, she looked at her only true family member in her eyes. Seeing the fire of hope igniting, the youngest nodded in agreement.

.

_**A day later…**_

.

As the two sisters continued to run, they saw the forest exit in sight, but stopped in their place. Seeing a young, small boy with the same appearance as the two sisters, his skin white with red dots covering his face. He also had light pink hair that resembled spider legs.

As they noticed him, they tried to turn the other way only for both to get caught in the boy's webs. Now hanging above the ground struggling to free themselves, the young boy walked up to the both of them.

.

"You two are such a disappointment. Now you'll have to pay the price." The boy answered.

"Like your one to talk, Rui!" The eldest sister spoke, causing Rui to turn his attention towards her.

"What do you mean, Big Sis?" Rui said his expressionless face remaining the same.

"You were the disappointment when you betrayed the woman who helped you walk again!" She yelled as tears began to form in her eyes, and hearing her statement caused Rui's expression to tighten. "She sacrificed her time to make sure you lived a fulfilling life and you throw it away by accepting-" The eldest sister began to choke when the wires around her neck began tightening.

"Shut up. Don't you dare bring up that weak woman again." Rui said looking up with the face of madness.

"Wow, weak woman. I won't argue with that, but you could've been a bit nicer." A woman's voice spoke up revealing a presence none of the demon's ever felt.

.

As all three demons looked up, Rui was the first to react and sent wires to try and grab the woman, only for her to disappear from sight. Then hearing the sound of a leaf falling towards the ground, Rui then heard a voice speak.

.

"_Breath of Balance, Fourth Form: The Coming of a New Season_." The woman spoke in a silent voice, only for her voice to be followed by the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. "Head for the forest exit, I'll follow behind."

.

Not even hesitating, the two sister's ran for the end of the forest, but Rui wouldn't allow it. Or at least he wouldn't have. But he noticed himself caught in his own wires. Stunned, he looked at the woman, whom he knew he betrayed so badly.

.

"Why don't you just kill me?" Rui asked.

"Because I can't. And I won't." The woman answered, her black hair flowing slightly in the wind. "You broke my heart, even thought I told you that you would be severing something important if you spoke to that man. And now, you blame me for it. Goodbye, Rui." The woman then disappeared without a trace.

.

Angered by her appearance and her words, knowing them to be true, Rui yelled out.

.

"You're right. I won't ever forgive you. What I did was right, and you wanted to prevent me from grabbing this power! I hate you! I hate you, Lily!" Even though Rui yelled to the top of his lungs, he realized that his voice never reach Lily's ears.

.

_**At the end of the forest…**_

.

Worried for their savior, both demons waited for her arrival. After several minutes, they noticed a figure walking out, looking down while her bangs covered her eyes. Walking past them, Lily just motioned them to follow. Worried for her sake, the two demons stayed by her side, walking in silence.

.

_**Several hours later, in an empty hut…**_

.

As a fire crackled in the corner of the small room, dropping her blood in a tiny porcelain cup, Lily handed the two cups filled with warm tea to the two siblings. As they accepted they looked at the cups before looking at each other. Then nodding in agreement, they slowly drank the tea expecting to feel the same pain they felt when they drank Rui's blood. But to much of their surprise, they felt their bodies being enclosed in a slow, warming heat. Feeling that warmth allowed the two girls to finally relax. Seeing this, Lily smiled sadly at the sight. Then standing up, Lily walked to a small door, and opened, pulling out two sets of kimonos.

.

"What are those for?" The eldest asked.

"A change of clothes." Lily answered. "Come and get changed, wouldn't want you to remember the pain you've had to endure all this time."

.

Accepting her offer, the two demon girls looked at the designs of the kimonos. One kimono had a pure black base with a flower-like pattern starting from the right shoulder wrapping itself around to the left waist, until it slithered down to the right foot. It also had short sleeves that reached until the elbow. The second kimono was a bit shorter than the first, with its base reaching just above the knees and its sleeves reaching just below the shoulders. Having a pure light-pink base, with a mountain painting that wrapped itself around the end of the kimono just below the waist. Seeing these clothes, each sister took one. The eldest taking the light-pink, while the youngest taking the pure black. After changing into their clothes, the youngest of the siblings, began to cover her mouth. Seeing this, Lily spoke up.

.

"It's kicking in that quickly, I'm surprised." As Lily spoke, she placed a bucket in front of the young sister, to which she began to throw up a black substance.

"What's happening to her?" The eldest sister said worried for her younger sister's health.

"She's simply rejecting Kibutsuji's blood. That's all." Lily answered, only to see a shocked face appearing on the eldest sister's face. "What's wrong?"

"You said that man's name. How?" The eldest asked.

"I removed his cells from my body just as your sister is doing." Lily stated as she noticed the youngest beginning to cough after a few seconds of throwing up the black substance. "A few more drinks should remove his cells completely, just don't say his name for the time being."

"A-alright." The youngest answered through her rasped breathing.

As the night came close to an end, the two sister continued to drink the concoctions that Lily had provided them, and after a few days of drinking such a concoction, Lily nodded to them, telling them that Kibutsuji's cell have all been eradicated. Hearing this, the two girls noticed their appearance. While they still had the milky white skin, they noticed the white beginning to fade just slightly into a pale color. As well as the red dots on their face had all but faded completely

.

"So, I've ben avoiding this question for some time, but now is a good time as ever." Lily spoke as she noticed the two girls changing their hair styles. "Why come to me?"

.

Unsure on how to answer the question, the two girls remained silent. After a few minutes of that silence, the youngest spoke up.

.

"My sister said that she saw into Rui's memories. How you helped him get stronger. We were wondering if you could help us get stronger."

"Is that true?" Lily turned her attention to the eldest of the two.

"Yes." The eldest answered.

"Normally, when it comes to Kibutsuji's blood entering someone else, they tend to see his memories, no one else." Lily answered before coming to a conclusion. "You must have reached a state that no one, not even I have been able to reach."

"What state?" The eldest asked.

.

Expecting an answer, Lily just rose up and grabbed two futons.

.

"It's late. Get some rest. You're going to need it." Lily answered as she blew out the fire.

.

Laying down in the futons on the cold, wooden floor, both sisters looked up toward the ceiling. They remained silent as they heard the shallow breathing of the woman who had saved them. As the youngest turned her attention towards her, she noticed that Lily was asleep with her knees up against her chest, with her arms wrapped around her legs. Seeing this, she got up and walked up toward her. Then sitting down next to her, she placed the blanket around Lily and herself, and slept next to her. Seeing this as well, the eldest decided to do the same, just on the opposite side of Lily.

Feeling the warmth of two children on each side of her, caused a small smile to show itself on Lily's face. For the first time, Lily felt the comfort of a family. A feeling she had never felt in forever.

.

_**9 Years Later…**_

.

Swinging her legs on top of a rooftop in the quiet town in the northwest, she began to hum a melody created by herself. As she continued to hum, she began swaying her body back and forth, her hair had become visible due to the light of the full moon shining so warmly on it. While the entirety of the hair was white, random strands were black while being held in a ponytail, began to follow the girl's motions. She also wore a black kimono with a flower-like pattern starting from the right shoulder wrapping itself around to the left waist, until it slithered down to the right foot. As she then opened her eyes, she looked up with a bright smile on her face.

.

"Those demon slayers are just about done with their entrance exam, right Suzuha?" The girl asked another girl who was standing and looking down on the town.

"You're probably right, Koharu." Suzuha answered.

.

As Koharu turned her attention to Suzuha, she took note of her kimono. It having a pure light-pink base, with a mountain painting that wrapped itself around the end of the kimono just below the waist. Smiling at the sight, Suzuha looked at Koharu and spoke up.

.

"What's up?" Suzuha asked.

"Oh, nothing just remembering when Lily gave these to us. We really took care of these clothes, huh?" Koharu answered.

"Of course, we'd take care of them. They're a precious gift-" Suzuha cut herself off. "A demons on the prowl."

"Well, it looks like we'll have to work faster than normal, huh?" Koharu asked while stretching her arms out.

"Just long enough until they send a demon slayer, and remember…" Suzuha was about to finish only for Koharu to chime in.

"I know, if I see blood, hold back." Koharu answered as she twirled. "Who do you take me for?" As she said this, she fell towards the empty street only to land on her feet. "Hurry up slow poke."

"That girl." Even though Suzuha said that, a smile crept onto her face, as she began to follow her sister.


	6. Chapter 6

_**In the mountains several miles away from the Kamado House…**_

* * *

.

As night began to set in, a young woman, looking no more than 20 years of age, black thin hair, and a figure that showed she came from a hunter's background, had begun to set a fire. As she did, she began to remember what happened 2 years prior to her situation.

.

_**2 years before…**_

* * *

.

As she looked at the two people standing before her, their clothes being made of a pure black cloth that seemed to reflect little to no light, with the kanjis of the word "DESTROY" imprinted on their back, the woman looked in horror as the man who was once her father, now a demon, had his head removed by a man with black hair and a mishmashed haori, with one side being red and the other geometrically patterned with green, orange, and yellow. Then as the other person on her left, wearing the same uniform as the man, with a butterfly hairpin, and a butterfly haori, just stood there as the demon was killed. Then after several minutes, the boy left the woman a message.

.

"Your father said… 'Live'." After hearing the demon hunter say those words, the woman began to cry as the two left.

.

As the sun rose, the woman realized that her father's body was no where to be seen, not even his bones were left. But even so, she placed a pile of snow over where her father was slayed and placed a slab of wood as a tombstone and prayed before leaving the grave site.

That interaction had left an impression on the woman, and because of that, she decided to never let any family, or person to suffer the way she did. She vowed to help as many as she possibly could.

.

_**Present Time…**_

* * *

.

Preparing to turn in for the night, the woman had just about fallen asleep, when her instincts kicked in telling her that there was danger nearby. Then in an instant, she grabbed her gun and pointed it in the direction of the supposed danger.

.

"Your quick on your feet." A feminine voice spoke.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke.

"My name is Lily. I just happened to notice your fire, so I followed it, thinking I may find someone to spend the night with before continuing on my journey." Lily answered.

"Come closer, slowly." The woman answered.

.

As Lily walked closer, the woman began to get a closer look at this new person's face. Lily's face was fair skinned, which to any normal person it would see like she hadn't seen sunlight her entire life. Dark mahogany red eyes, and light black hair. Seeing nothing that yelled danger from this new person the woman met, she began to ease up. But she eased up a bit too much that she ended up collapsing. Seeing this, Lily rushed up and grabbed the woman and laid her down on the ground.

As the woman woke up, she woke up to the smell of burnt out smoke. As she began to look around, she noticed the woman she had met, looking off into the distance. And almost like knowing she had awoken, Lily turned to face her.

.

"Good morning. Did you rest well?" Lily answered with a sweet smile.

"Good morning." The woman answered.

.

Walking up to the woman, Lily placed her index finger on the woman's forehead and closed her eyes. Then sighing, Lily spoke.

.

"You appear to have a low-grade fever. I suggest we go to a nearby town to see if we can find a doctor." Lily replied as she began to pack the woman's stuff.

"It's fine. I can…" But as the woman tried to get up, she realized her strength had left her body.

"Don't push yourself too much. It'll cause repercussions later on." Lily answered as she pushed the woman back down.

"Miss Lily, correct?" The woman answered.

"Just call me Lily. And what may I call you?" Lily asked.

"Yuki is fine." Yuki answered.

"Then, Miss Yuki. Let's get going." Lily replied as she placed all of Yuki's stuff in her bag and piggy-backed her on before trekking off to the nearest town.

.

_**An Hour Later…**_

* * *

.

Arriving at a town, Lily managed to find an open inn, and grabbed a room. As she placed Yuki down on the bed, Lily then placed all of Yue's stuff on the ground before leaving the room.

.

"Listen, stay in bed. If you don't, it'll be bad for you." Lily answered as she closed the door and left.

"It's not like I can move." Yuki answered to herself as she closed her eyes again.

.

Then for what seemed like a minute or so, Yuki felt the warmth of a hand touch her forehead. Opening her groggy eyes, she noticed a doctor checking her temperature with Lily right behind him.

.

"So, how is she?" Lily spoke.

"Just a low-grade fever." The doctor said as he stood up. "I suggest having her rest for a few day, then after that she should be fine." Then the doctor handed a back of crushed medicine. "That should help her calm down enough to rest better. Well then, excuse me." Then the doctor left the room.

"You should consider yourself lucky." Lily then turned her attention towards Yuki. "I'm glad I found you when I did."

"You went through the trouble of finding a doctor." Yuki paused for a few seconds to catch her breath. "You don't know the meaning of 'staying out of other people's business' do you."

"When there is someone who need assistance, help them, even if they don't ask." Lily replied. "That is how my parents raised me."

"Is that so?" Yuki replied before succumbing to drowsiness.

.

After a few days, Yuki made a full recovery and had begun to pack, but not before Lily stopped her.

.

"I'm better now. There is no need for me to stay here any longer." Yuki answered as she placed her hand on Lily's shoulders to try and move her, only to feel resistance.

"Before you leave, I'd like to ask you a question." Lily replied.

"Well, seeing as your not moving from that position, I really don't have a choice do I?" Yuki answered. "So, what is it?" Yuki asked as she sat on the bed.

"Why are you hunting demons?" Lily asked, which caught Yuki by surprised. "I guess I can still surprise people."

"How do you know I've been demons?" Yuki asked as she continuously looked around the room for her gun.

"I've had a couple of my subordinates keep tabs on you. Your skills with a gun are impressive, but they won't do you good if you don't use the right materials." Lily answered.

"What do you mean?" Yuki replied as she looked at Lily in her eyes.

"In order to kill a demon, you must have one of three things: One, a nichirin blade; Two, the purest of metals; or Three, wisteria poisoning. And by the looks of it you have neither of them." Lily answered.

"And how do you know this?" Yuki answered.

"Because I've been with the demon slayers before. And you've met them." As Lily said that, the memory of the man with the blue colored blade came to mind as he sliced off her father's head.

"Who are you?" Yuki answered.

"I'm a demon trying to do the same thing you're doing, but on a much larger scale. If you'd like, I can assist you in grabbing the materials you need." Lily responded.

"And, what the catch?" Yuki spoke knowing that this deal is too good to be true.

"Become one of my Shining Stars. Of course, you'd only have the mark. Most of the time, I'd turn my stars into demons, but you look like the type who wants to keep her humanity." Lily said as she began to turn to the door.

"Is that it?" Yuki asked once more.

"That's it." Lily answered.

"Then I'll do it." Yuki answered with confidence.

.

After several hours, Lily and Yuki went their separate ways. As they did, Yuki placed her finger on top of her right eye, feeling a slight scratch mark.

.

"I didn't think receiving the mark would hurt so much." Yuki said to herself, after looking at her hand. "I don't feel any different, but she said that I'll be able to sense a demons' presence quicker than I'd usually do. I believe she also said something about a 'Breathing Technique,' but she didn't teach me anything."

.

As Yuki continued to talk to herself, she continued to walk into the darkness of the night.

.

_**At Urokodaki's House…**_

* * *

.

As Nezuko and Tanjiro struggled to walk the last few feet, while on each other's shoulders, they were just atop of a small hill that gave a clear view of Urokodaki's house.

.

"We're…back." Tanjiro said as he looked at Nezuko.

"Yeah…we…are." Nezuko answered. "Let's get going."

.

As the two got closer, they heard the sound of wood being knocked down. And to their surprise, they noticed Kaguya, who looked to be 8 years of age, walk out like nothing was wrong. Seeing this, both Tanjiro and Nezuko began to rush forward.

.

"Kaguya!" Tanjiro yelled, causing Kaguya to turn her attention towards the two siblings.

"Kaguya, your awake." Nezuko followed only to collapse from exhaustion.

.

Seeing Nezuko collapse, then Tanjiro following his sister, Kaguya rushed forward. As the two Kamado siblings pushed themselves off the ground, they were surprised at the sudden embrace given by Kaguya. As her short, little arms tried their best to wrap around the Kamado's necks, Kaguya rested her head in between Tanjiro's and Nezuko's. As Kaguya's hair fluttered down, Nezuko and Tanjiro noticed a peculiar smell emanating from the young Kaguya, But overcome with emotion, the two didn't even bother to ask, and just embraced Kaguya.

.

"You…you never once woke up! You had me so worried!" Tanjiro exclaimed as he began rubbing his head on Kaguya's shoulder.

"I'm just glad your alright, Kaguya." Nezuko stated as she placed her chin on Kaguya's shoulder.

.

But even when the Kamado siblings poured their heart out, Kaguya remained silent. But even when she remained silent, her embrace tightened, showing the siblings that she was actually worried for them, even when she was in a coma-like state. Then arriving back from chopping wood, Urokodaki noticed the three children embracing each other. Out of shock, Urokodaki dropped the pieces of wood and began walking toward the Kamado siblings. The entire time they were away, Urokodaki believed that they had perished, only for his doubts to be proven wrong. Oh, were they proven wrong indeed. Wrapping his arms around the three, tears began to stream from behind the red tengu mask.

.

"I'm relieved to see the two of you back. Truly, I am." Urokodaki spoke, his voice getting choked up from holding back the stream of tears.

.

As he brought Tanjiro and Nezuko in, Tanjiro explained that he was the one who eliminated the Hand Demon. Hearing that come from his students' mouth, Urokodaki nodded with relief knowing that the demon he had captured 47 years ago, had finally fallen.

After wiping the dry blood from a sleeping, exhausted Nezuko's forehead, Urokodaki noticed a peculiar scar on the right side of her forehead. Not thinking much of it, Urokodaki covered it in bandages, and placed her in the futon before shutting the door, allowing the young girl to rest. As Urokodaki walking back into the room, he noticed Kaguya stirring a bowl of vegetable over the fire and handing it over to Tanjiro. Seeing the sight, caused Urokodaki to remember the time he had begun to train under the tutelage of Lily.

Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, Kaguya picked out another bowl and handed it over to Urokodaki, with a gentle smile. Seeing that smile, Urokodaki grabbed the bowl from Kaguya's hand and sat down next to the young demon girl.

.

"Urokodaki, just when did Kaguya wake up?" Tanjiro asked after he finished his bowl.

"Today." Urokodaki answered.

"That hand demon was tough." Tanjiro replied.

"Hmm." Urokodaki answered.

"Do you feel better now that the demon is dead?" Tanjiro asked.

"I do." Urokodaki answered, before continuing. "There are certain demons who can use what people call 'magic,' but there is a term for it. It's known as 'Blood Demon Art'."

"Blood Demon Art?" Tanjiro repeated as he looked over at Kaguya, who at this point was sitting in the corner of the room, sleeping while holding onto her legs. "Is Kaguya using that… 'Something Art'?"

"No. I've known Lily long enough to know that no matter what, she will always resist to the smell of blood. I've not once seen her eat or lick the blood of humans." Urokodaki answered. "Most likely, Kaguya is the same, maybe different."

.

Then for the remainder of the night, both Tanjiro and Urokodaki sat in silence as they continued to eat the food Kaguya had made.


	7. Chapter 7

_**In a Town in the Northwest…**_

* * *

_**.**_

As Tanjiro was bent over the ground, he began to sniff the ground. As he did a young man by the name of Kazuki was following Tanjiro as he began his sniffing journey. As Tanjiro said this, he began to remember what the Kasugaigarasu told him and his sister just a few days before they left for the town.

.

_**A few days prior…**_

* * *

.

"Caww!" The crow cawed grabbing everyone's attention. "Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado. You are to head towards the town in the northwest. There are two demons at large. One who consumes young women, and the other is unknown."

"Unknown, do you not know what the demon eats?" Tanjiro asked, only to get a slight chuckle from the crow.

.

Not really understanding, both Nezuko and Tanjiro looked at each other with confusion written on their face before they decided to set off to the town.

.

_**Present Time…**_

* * *

.

Returning from his memories, Tanjiro began to stay on high alert since the sun had begun to set in the distance. But even when the sun had set, Tanjiro continued his investigation. Then after a good while of silence, Kazumi spoke up.

.

"Hey, we should stop and get some rest. We can do this tomorrow." Kazumi answered.

"No! Those things are active at night." Tanjiro replied back in a rush, as he continued to sniff around.

.

Confused as to why someone who looks like he doesn't believe him, is actually helping him. Kazumi was still grateful for his assistance.

.

_**At the other side of the town…**_

* * *

.

Looking around with intent, Nezuko touched walls, the ground on which she walked on, posters, and such to see the colors she was now able to see clearly due to Urokodaki's training. And as night had begun to set in, Nezuko began to sigh, as the sun disappeared without a trace.

.

"Not only is there one demon I have to keep an eye out for, but there's another demon who's pretty much a mystery." Nezuko sighed as she continued to walk. "And not only that, but I have to carry this empty box. I mean what is it even for?" Nezuko questioned to no one as she pulled against the straps of the light-weight box.

.

As she continued to walk, Nezuko looked around noticing the dark, black, red highlighted color stream beginning to thicken and act wild. As she noticed this, Nezuko began to run, until a pair of claws came out of nowhere from around the corner.

.

"_Oh, crap!_" Nezuko thought to herself as she jumped out of the way, just in time. "A demon!"

.

Out of the shadows, a horned demon crawled out and began muttering something to itself. Nezuko wasn't able to fully hear but she did hear was:

.

"Damn him. Damn him, damn him. DAMN THAT DEMON HUNTER!" The horned demon yelled after which he began rubbing his lower teeth against his upper teeth causing them to create a scratching sound. "He got in my way and killed my other halves!"

"_This one is completely starved. This is just great._" Nezuko thought to herself. "_I hope Nii-chan is having a better time than I am having right now._"

.

_**Back to Tanjiro…**_

* * *

.

Still sniffing around, Kazumi continued to follow the young demon slayer. Hearing Tanjiro finally sigh in defeat, Kazumi spoke up.

.

"Is something the matter?" Kazumi asked.

"You said that the girl you were with disappeared right next to you, correct?" Tanjiro asked.

"Yes, I was with Satoko when she disappeared last night. Why?" Kazumi answered confused as to why Tanjiro asked such a thing.

"It's because this creature doesn't have her scent. And since it's only been a day, it couldn't have grabbed another girl without the risk of being seen." Tanjiro answered.

"Creature? Scent? What are you talking about?" Kazumi asked becoming more and more worried.

"What I'm saying is that there is a chance that Satoko is alive." Tanjiro responded to Kazumi only for his expression to change suddenly. "Mr. Kazumi, get down!"

.

As Tanjiro yelled, Kazumi looked behind him to see two hand coming for him. Then seeing his life flash before his eyes, Kazumi thought this was his end, only to be brought back to reality by an ear-piercing scream.

As Kazumi looked in front of him, he noticed Tanjiro falling from the sky, while blood shot upwards, and the hands the nearly grabbed him suddenly fell towards the ground, after being sliced off.

.

"_Water Breathing, 8__th__ Form: Waterfall Basin_!" Tanjiro thought to himself as he jumped in front of Kazumi while breathing. "_I rushed the technique, so it must've been a shallow cut. Damn it._" As the demon screamed, its arms regrew back within seconds, and it began to laugh.

"Who knew being struck by a Nichirin Blade would hurt so much." The demon continued to laugh. Then as the moon showed itself from behind the clouds, what Tanjiro saw shook him to his core.

.

_**Back to Nezuko…**_

* * *

.

Trying her best to make some distance so she can pull out her blade, Nezuko was practically face to face with a staved horned demon.

.

"_This demon is completely starved. But that's impossible. Last I heard, there were women disappearing, so it must've been another demon._" Nezuko thought to herself as the horned demon's onslaught continued.

"I have to surpass him and make this my territory. I have to beat that demon hunter!" The horned demon yelled as his eyes went from a normal dark red to a bright crimson red.

"_This guy sure is persistent. But no matter…_" Nezuko began to breath as she continued to back up. "_Water Breathing: 4__th__ Form…_" As Nezuko began moving forward, she pulled out her blade. "_Striking Tide!_"

.

As Nezuko began to dance around the demon as she made consecutive slashes on the demon, causing it to bleed profusely.

.

"_I did. I can do this!_" Nezuko exclaimed to herself with joy. "Now then, are you the one who's abducting young women in this area?!" Nezuko asked as she pointed her blade to the demon, who at this point was trying to force his limbs to regrow.

"Damn him…damn…him…That demon hunter goes in and steals my kill which I've worked hard for. And he goes and stabs me with that blade! I won't forgive him! I'll never forgive him! If it's makes me stronger, then I'll eat him! And I won't leave a trace of him! NOT EVEN HIS BLOOD!" The horned demon yelled to the top of his lungs as he began rushing towards Nezuko without his arms.

"_This demon is crazy! He's still trying to attack even though he doesn't have any arms_." Nezuko then realized that this demon didn't care, Nezuko prepared for another attack only to feel a heavy weight on her back. As she looked back, Nezuko noticed a gray fog. "Is that…?"

"Duck!" was all the woman said as she lifted up her right leg.

.

Seeing this, Nezuko reacted just in time to feel a gust of wind blow right past her. Then the sound of a wall breaking into a million pieces.

.

"And that's why you never mess with demons who know how to resist eating humans." The demon said as her pink kimono flutter as she landed on the ground in front of Nezuko.

.

As Nezuko looked at the demon, she noticed how black her hair was, with a couple of white strands randomly popping up here and there. But her kimono is what caught Nezuko's attention the most. While the kimono reached just above the knees and its sleeves just below the elbows, it's pure light-pink base suited perfectly to the demon girl's skin. And while a painting of a mountain was wrapped around her waist, it fluttered along with her kimono.

.

"Can I assume you're the demon slayer sent to this location?" The demon asked.

"Who are you?" Was all Nezuko could respond with at the moment.

"Forgive me. My name is Suzuha. And I'll ask again, are you the demon slayer sent to this location?" Suzuha introduced herself and repeated her question.

"Yes. And I'm Nezuko. Nezuko Kamado." Nezuko answered as she introduced herself to this unique demon.

"Kamado?" Suzuha repeated as she looked closely at Nezuko's eye and saw a memory flood her head.

.

"_The memory of a calm, caring family. The father weak and thin but had the spirit of a warrior. The mother, just as strong, but stronger. A young brother, who tries his best to follow in his eldest brother's footsteps. A young sister, who is always cheerful and playful when it came to playing with her older siblings. And a child, a boy in fact, sleeping in both his mother's and father's arms_."

.

Coming back from the memory, Suzuha turned her attention towards the demon she had just kicked and noticed him standing once again, and without hesitation, rushed up to the two women.

.

"I'll buy you as much time as I can, prepare a move that will kill him instantly. He's gone without eating for days, it's best to end him. Now!" Suzuha answered as she rushed up to the horned demon, punching him in the stomach with such a force that it caused him to cough up blood.

_So…so strong_!" The horned demon thought to himself. "_This girl is a demon…but I don't smell blood on her. How could she be so strong_?" As the demon thought this he was sent flying back once again but managed to stop himself by grabbing the ground. Then in a matter of seconds the ground began to open up and water seems to protrude. But just as he was about to dive in, Suzuha rushed up and swung low with her feet to prevent him from reentering. "_She's quick too. And not only that, but she's preventing me from reentering my lake?!_"

.

_**Back to Tanjiro…**_

* * *

.

Seeing the demon emerge from the shadows, was enough to send Tanjiro into shock. He wore a standard demon slayer uniform, had an uncovered sheath to his right. His face was deathly pale, with tattoo-like marks that went from the top of his forehead straight down to the bottom of his neck. And the lines also extended twice on each side, from each cheek to his ear. As a smug-like smile appeared on his face, he walked up slowly to reveal who he truly was.

.

"Wait, you…you're a…" Tanjiro was at a loss for words, but the demon had answered for Tanjiro.

"That's right. I used to be a demon slayer, just as yourself." The demon responded, before continuing. "So, from one hunter to another, I'll let you live if you hand over that man. Humans taste better when they have guilt and despair running through them." The demon said as he began to laugh.

.

Complete filled with countless emotions, Tanjiro just stood there without moving an inch or saying a word, and had his head facing down towards the ground. Seeing this the demon began to scoff.

.

"I don't believe it. You're at a loss for words!" The demon began to laugh hysterically at this point, only to hear the sound of a sword being released from its sheath. "Hmm?"

"Your scent is telling me that you've murdered scores of people." Tanjiro said malice in his voice, which clearly scared Kazumi out of his skin. "Mr. Kazumi, I suggest you step back, this could get bloody." As Tanjiro said that, he removed the box that was hanging from his shoulders. "If I were to ever fall open that box, you here?"

"Right." Kazumi answered.

"You're strong. Stronger than I. I'm sure you'll find Makoto again." Tanjiro said as he turned his attention towards the demon.

"It would seem that you are prepared to die." The demon said as he disappeared from sight, only for his scent to reappear behind him. "Now, die!" His voice answered with malice.

.

Ducking just in time, Tanjiro twisted his body mid-air and sliced the demon's hand off, only to get hit in the stomach with the same hand that Tanjiro had cut off.

.

"_He regrew it that fast? What's up with that_?!" Tanjiro thought to himself as he was sent flying back.

"If you wondering, yes I have eaten scores of humans. But they aren't regular human. Their marechi!" The demon stated with such pride, that it seems like he was gloating. "Marechi, worth 50, no 100 people. And each one with their own unique taste. I can never get enough of them." The demon stopped mid-sentence and turned his attention towards Kazumi. "Now then, marechi…Time for you to become my next meal."

.

Seeing the demon completely focused on him, Kazumi panicked and fell back. Seeing this, Tanjiro, through gasps and short breaths, yelled out.

.

"Mr. Kazumi! Open the box!" Tanjiro yelled.

.

Remembering what Tanjiro had told him, Kazumi rushed towards the box and opened the door. As the inside remained a shadow, the demon laughed as he rushed forward, only to see his entire world turn upside-down. Then in a matter of moment, a young girl, looking to be 8 years of age, emerged from the box. Her long white-hair dragged against the floor as she crawled out of the small, compact box. Her eyes looking with such malice, that if looks could kill, her look would be it. Her kimono was covered by black haori that extended way past her short, tiny arms. And as the demon stood on her own two feet, she began to growl lowly. Seeing this, Kazumi became even more terrified. But that fear was short lived when the young demon child calmed down and looked his way with such kindness it felt like he was in Heaven's Eden.

.

"Kaguya! Look out!" Tanjiro yelled to grab the demon girl's attention.

"Too late!" The demon man answered as he extended his arm out and a sword flew right in it. "Blood Demon Art, Breath of the Wild: Lion's Claw!" As the demon's sword flew straight to Kaguya's neck, he believed he had won once again, only to be proven wrong once again.

.

As before, the demon's world turned upside-down, as he noticed his blade missing from his hand, and Kaguya right in front of him. Even though her body was short and small, the demon believed that all she could was flip him around, but breathing with such force, caused his entire body to shiver like crazy, as her left fist came rushing in and punched the demon's chest with such a force that Kaguya broke through his ribs and it echoed throughout the street.

.

"Tanjiro, now!" Kaguya said for the first time in almost 2 years.

.

_**Back to Nezuko…**_

* * *

.

As Nezuko noticed Suzuha holding her own against the starved horned demon, Nezuko rose to her feet and began to breath.

.

"Even though he's a demon, he shouldn't have to suffer like this." With determination in her eyes, Nezuko rushed forth and jumped with all her might. "_Water Breathing Technique, 5__th__ Form…_" As Nezuko fell from the sky she readied her sword. And seeing her shadow, Suzuha kicked the demon into the right position for Nezuko to strike.

.

_**At the same time…**_

* * *

.

Tanjiro, following Kaguya's instructions, began to run forth while also preparing an attack.

.

"_Water Breathing Technique, 1__st__ Form:…_" Holding his blade over his shoulder, Tanjiro began to close the distance between him and the demon.

.

Seeing his end near, the demon tried to put in one last ditch effort to save himself. But it was too late at that point.

.

"_Surface Slice!_" Tanjiro yelled as his blade sliced through the demon's neck.

.

_**Back to Nezuko…**_

* * *

.

"_The Merciful Rain of a Dry Day_." Nezuko said as she fell from the sky and passed her blade through the horned demon's neck with no resistance whatsoever. "Rest in peace."

.

In no time, both demons that have tortured this small town had fallen to the blades of two young demon slayers. Seeing this, both Kaguya and Suzuha began to relax after the moment had passed.


	8. Chapter 8

_**In a house surrounded by greenery…**_

* * *

.

As the sound of scissors began to clip at hair, a young girl about the age of 16, white hair, pearly white skin, and scarlet red eyes, who looked just like Kaguya, just sat with her back facing a woman with red hair.

.

"Hey, come on. Stop moving, you're making it difficult for me to cut your hair." The woman said as she began to giggle.

"But your taking to long." The girl followed with a slight laugh, while closing one of her eyes while she turned her attention towards her mother.

"Come on now, face forward." The mother said as she grabbed her daughter's face and faced it forward. "Now don't move. You understand…" the girl's mother's voice went silent like static, and the young girl was unable to hear her name come from her mother's mouth.

.

As the snipping continued, the young girl just sat there with her eyes closed for the duration of the haircut. Then after a few minutes, her mother spoke up.

.

"Alright […] its' done." As the mother spoke up, the girl opened her eyes and ran towards the little pond they had in their yard.

.

As the girl looked into the pond, she began to see the detail her mother put in into making as controlled as possible. Liking what she saw, the girl began to braid her hair when, the young girl froze after smelling the scent of blood. Completely scared she turned around, now an older version of herself, looking a lot more like Kaguya in a black kimono with pinkish-white cherry blossom branches. Now looking around in a panic, Kaguya ran around the house.

.

"Mother! Father!" Kaguya yelled as she ran, then as she made her way to the living room, what she saw sent her into shock. Their laid her parents, covered in blood, dead. But the look in their eyes, the look of fear and pain, caused Kaguya to scream. But it only lasted for a short while when the horrid smell Kaguya smelled before came back.

"They didn't do what I wanted, so I take what is rightfully mine." A voice said. But as the voice spoke it sent fear running through every part of Kaguya's body. "Now will you listen to me, or should I have you join them?"

"What do you want?" Kaguya asked as her voice began to quiver.

"You seem incapable of defending for yourself. Become my wife and I can guarantee your safety. And I can also guarantee that if you do, you can rule by my side with my first present to you being immortality." Hearing his demand, caused Kaguya to lose her mind, and through a rage tried to kill him with the pocketknife she had in her sleeve only to get stabbed in her stomach. "Oh, and to be perfectly clear…you never had a choice to begin with."

.

Looking down at her stomach, Kaguya noticed the man's entire hand in her stomach, as it did, she began to feel a pain far greater than she had ever experienced in her life. As Kaguya began to throw up blood, the man held her face and began to squeeze her cheeks.

.

"Don't you dare die on me yet." The man said as Kaguya began to get a good look at his face. The man's face was pale as hers. His eyes were a brighter red that hers, and the only difference Kaguya noticed was the fact that this man had veins popping out of his forehead. After another good minute, the man let Kaguya fall to the ground. "That should do it. Now listen hear. If you don't do what I say, my cells will kill you. If you ever mention what happened here to anyone, you will die. And finally, if you ever say my name, you will die." Hoping that the threats will work, the man began to walk away, only to be stopped by something grabbing his ankle.

"If you think I'd ever do anything for you…. your mistaken. The… only…thing that… I'll ever do… is take you head." Kaguya spoke through the pain, causing the man to look with astonishment. "I'll never do anything for you, no matter how much you influence me. I'll… I'll always fight. No matter what may happen to me, I'll always…always find you… Muzan Kibutsuji." Kaguya said as she looked up to see anger running through the man now named Kibutsuji.

"You dare say…" But Kibutsuji noticed Kaguya still there struggling. "How are you still alive?" Then looking with surprise, Kibutsuji tried to grab Kaguya, only to see his entire world turn upside-down.

.

To much of his surprise, he noticed Kaguya standing while he himself was on the ground. But without wasting a second, Kibutsuji stood up only to see that Kaguya was not there. Now running for her life, Kaguya did not once look back, she just kept running. Ran down the mountain that she lived on, ran away from the home that she knew, ran away from the man that wanted her only for his sake. Kaguya just ran, ran as fast as her feet could take her. Then hearing the sound of branches breaking, Kaguya looked back and noticed something moving, scared out of her mind, Lily jumped. But as she looked, she noticed how high she jumped. And for the first time, she felt free. Free from the restraints that was known as gravity. She saw as far as her eyes can see but knowing that she couldn't enjoy the view for much longer, she began to look down only to see the world just end. As she fell down a cliff, she accepted her fate, but someone wouldn't allow it. Feeling a pain in her arm, like something dug into it, Kaguya looked up to see Kibutsuji grabbing onto her with his nails.

.

"You're just like me, and you're going to end your life, just like that?!" He yelled.

"You murdered my parents to get what you want. If you had done things differently, I would've followed you to the ends of Hell, but not anymore." As Kaguya said that, she grabbed Kibutsuji's hand and tried to pry it open, but in the end his grip was stronger than hers, out of desperation, Kaguya grabbed onto his neck, and pulled herself up. Shocked by this, Kibutsuji eyes widened with Kaguya's next action. As their lips touched, Kibutsuji felt himself calming down, not knowing what to do, he just laid there with Kaguya still within his grasp. "That is all your getting from me." Kaguya said as tore her arm off her shoulder, losing it to Kibutsuji.

.

As he looked dumbfounded at the woman who fell down the cliff and into the ocean, he never felt such a thrill in a long time. Then as Kaguya fell, she began to notice the ground coming closer and closer, then out of fear, she closed her eyes and…

.

_**Present time…**_

* * *

**.**

She felt a thud, as the box she was in was placed on the ground. As she looked around the box with curiosity, Kaguya placed her ear on one of the sides of the box to see if she could hear anything. Then the door leading into the box opened.

.

"Kaguya, you can come out now." Tanjiro said as stood in front of the box.

.

Slowly crawling out, Kaguya took note of her surroundings. She noticed Tanjiro and Nezuko, but she also took note of Suzuha who was standing behind Nezuko. Walking up to Suzuha, Kaguya placed her hands behind her back and smiled towards the young demon. Smiling back, Suzuha placed her hand on Kaguya's head and just remained silent.

As the group then began to walk through the city of Asakusa, Tanjiro placed the scarf he had above his neck and began to feel nausea. He then turned his attention towards Nezuko, only to see the same reaction appearing on her face. He then turned his attention towards Suzuha and Kaguya, only to see Kaguya not liking the bright lights.

.

"Are you used to this sort of thing, Miss Suzuha?" Tanjiro asked while holding onto Kaguya's hand.

"I've traveled all over Japan. So, the first time really was a shock, but I'm a bit used to it." Suzuha said with a weak smile. "But I still can't handle all the bright lights. My sister, however,…well she's a different story."

"Your sister?" Nezuko responded. "Is she a demon, too?"

"Yes, even though we're not blood related, we love each other." Suzuha said as she began to look around. "I believe she said she was somewhere around this city."

"Wait, you two got separated?" Tanjiro asked, only to be pulled back by Kaguya as a small locomotive passed by. "Thank you, Kaguya." Tanjiro thanked Kaguya by patting her head.

"I was in the Northwest town you were in, but my sister received orders by Lily to look around for something." Suzuha answered. "Hey, lets' go this way. The lights are beginning to hurt my eyes."

"Yeah, we should." Tanjiro responded weakly.

.

After another several minutes of walking, they ended up on some deserted alley away from all the bright lights. As Tanjiro then walked up to a soba cart, he weakly said:

.

"Excuse me. Three bowls of udon with grated yam. Suzuha what do you want?" Tanjiro asked as he looked over to Suzuha who, at this point was standing just a bit ways away.

"Udon with tempura." Suzuha said with a blush appearing on her face.

"And a bowl of udon with tempura?" Tanjiro asked with a bit of hesitation.

"Alright, coming up." The udon master said as he began to cook all four bowls.

.

After several minutes of cooking, the master of the shop pulled out the first three bowls, then a few minutes after pulled out the tempura. As the group then began to eat, Tanjiro suddenly reacted and dropped his bowl, scaring the girls.

.

"Nii-chan, what's wrong?" Nezuko asked as she placed down her bowl, but without warning, Tanjiro ran off, katana in hand away from the group. "Nii-chan, wait up." Nezuko hollered as she began to run after Tanjiro.

.

As the two demon girls sat there, Kaguya placed the bowl down, looked over at Suzuha, and pointed her finger down on the bench they were sitting on, indicating that she can't move from that spot. Nodding her head, Kaguya ran after the two Kamado siblings.

.

_**Back in the main part of the city…**_

* * *

.

"STOP!" Tanjiro yelled as he removed his scarf and ran past a man he believed to be Muzan Kibutsuji.

.

As Tanjiro did so, he rolled his scarf into a ball and shoved it down the mouth of a newly formed demon. Without much delay, Nezuko ran toward the woman who was bitten by the demon, and grabbing a sash, she quickly tied it around the wound to try and minimize the bleeding. Then as the whole event unfolded, the man had begun to leave, only to smell a scent he had all but nearly forgotten. Stopping in his tracks, his body had begun to shake, and the little girl in his arms had noticed it.

.

"Papa, is something wrong?" She asked worried for her father's health.

"Everything is fine." Kibutsuji said with a forced smile.

"Hey, Tsukihiko? Do you know who this child is?" The lady next to him asked as she looked behind Kibutsuji.

.

Hearing the woman say that, caused Kibutsuji to shake even more. Then placing the girl down, Kibutsuji spoke.

.

"You two head on without me. I just realized I dropped something back there. So, I'm going to go retrieve it." Kibutsuji said with a tender smile.

"Is that so?" The woman spoke. "We'll the car isn't that far, so we could manage on our own. Let's go." The woman then spoke to her daughter, who then said goodbye to her 'father.'

.

After they were out of sight, Kibutsuji, using his inhuman speed grabbed the young girl behind him and ran towards an alley. Slamming the young girl into the wall, the girl didn't even flinch, just remained emotionless.

.

"You dare get near me when I'm next to my family." Kibutsuji said, his eyes shaking with anger and madness.

"_You came near Lily. I'm just returning the favor._" Kaguya thought, scaring Kibutsuji as he noticed her mouth not moving an inch.

.

Then without wasting a second, Kaguya chomped down on Kibutsuji's neck. And just as Kibutsuji reacted to it, Kaguya was already out of the area and out of sight. Looking around, Kibutsuji tried his best to find her, only for it to be futile. And just before he left, he snapped his fingers, and two people appeared behind him, kneeling on one knee.

.

"Find the boy with the hanafuda-like earrings and bring me his head. And if you so happen to find a child with white hair and a black haori, bring her to me, alive." Kibutsuji said with malice in his voice, without turning around.

"Understood." Both demons answered in unison as they disappeared from sight.

.

As Kibutsuji placed his hand on the right side of his neck, where Kaguya had bitten just moments prior, he began to feel weak, but still trekked forward. Then in the shadows, Kaguya sat there holding her breath, trying her best to keep her heartrate at a still, and quiet tempo. Then after Kibutsuji left, Kaguya began to breath out, and mist began to rise from her body, only to show that it wasn't Kaguya, but another woman. A woman with white hair, and randomly placed black strands. She wore a black kimono with flower-like patterns that started on the right shoulder, and wrapped itself around the left waist, until it slithered down to the right foot. It also had short sleeve that reached just below the elbows. Breathing roughly, the girl began to calm down just a bit until another set of footsteps began to approach. Tensing up from the situation, a soft feminine voice spoke.

.

"Koharu." the woman spoke, but hearing no response, she spoke again. "The stars will always shine on the path of truth."

"Miss Tamayo." Koharu answered as she walked out of the shadows, all weak-like. "I got something for you."

"I've got you." The woman named Tamayo spoke, as she grabbed Koharu before she fell. "I understand Lily asked you to grab his blood, but was it really necessary to do something like that?"

"It was the only way for him to take me." Koharu answered. "Besides, I'm a demon. I'll heal. But mentally, it'll probably take a little while longer." Koharu answered with a frightened giggle.

.

_**Back near the soba cart…**_

* * *

.

Tanjiro received an earful from the cart owner for not only dropping his food, but also for not finishing it. Then the owner turned his attention to Nezuko and stated that it was unruly of her to just leave the bowl on the bench, and not finish. Both the Kamado siblings apologized and the udon cart owner cooked four more bowls and the siblings each took two bowls each and finished it in record speed, bringing a smile to the owner. Then as the group began to leave, Kaguya stopped, nearly causing Tanjiro to fall backwards.

.

"Kaguya, what's wrong?" Tanjiro asked as he looked at Kaguya before turning his attention to what she was looking at. "Oh, it's you." Tanjiro answered as he began to walk up to the boy who seemed to have emerged from the tree.

"Seems like it's a habit for you to be everywhere, huh Suzuha?" the boy turned his attention away from Tanjiro and turned it to Suzuha.

"Oh, come on, Yushiro. Don't make it sound like I'm some type of coquette." Suzuha answered causing the boy Yushiro to be caught off guard. "Anyways, let's go." Suzuha spoke as she walked past Yushiro.

.

_**In a quiet street…**_

* * *

.

As the group just stood in front of all, both Tanjiro and Nezuko looked at each other in confusion, Yushiro walked through the wall. Shocking both the Kamado siblings, they had no time to react since Suzuha pushed them both in. Looking back, Tanjiro noticed that it was just an illusion. A few minutes after, Suzuha entered and began to walk towards the house, just before Yushiro could give Nezuko and Tanjiro an earful.

Inside, the woman Tanjiro and Nezuko met just before they returned to Kaguya, was checking the condition of the woman that was bitten by her husband. Then as Nezuko saw another color of gray fly in front of her, she turned her attention to her right to see a young girl with whitish-black hair sleeping in the corner of the room with her legs to her chest, with her arms wrapped around her legs. Seeing this, Nezuko walked up and extended her hand out, only for the girl to grab with quick reflexes.

.

"You know, it's rude to wake someone up when they're sleeping." The girl spoke as she opened her eyes. "Hello."

"Hi." Nezuko answered as she began to see the gray around her dance peacefully. "And you are…" Nezuko was cut off by Suzuha.

"Seems like you were busy, Koharu." Suzuha spoke before Nezuko could speak.

"Nee-chan." Koharu answered as she got up and embraced her sister. "It's great to see you. I'm sorry I left you so suddenly." Koharu apologized as she left her sister's embrace.

"It's fine. I was told that later that you left due to Lily asking." Suzuha replied with sincerity.

"So, this is your sister?" Tanjiro spoke up after seeing a gap in their conversation.

"Yes. This is Koharu. We both came from Mt. Natagumo." After saying such a name, Tanjiro began to smell the smell of fear rising off the two demon siblings.

"Your…" But before Tanjiro could speak, the lady from before spoke up.

"Would you three be quiet. There is a patient here." She said.

"Forgive me, Miss Tamayo." Koharu apologize for the noise, and then took Kaguya's hand and led her to the other room.

"I haven't had the time to introduce myself, but…" the lady turned her attention toward Tanjiro and Nezuko. "My name is Tamayo, and that boy there is Yushiro. I hope the two of you could be his friend."

.

Hearing Tamayo say that, both Tanjiro and Nezuko turned their attention to a now angry Yushiro.

.

"_Yeah, there is no way that is happening._" The Kamado siblings thought in unison.

"Please come this way. We'll continue the conversation in this room." Tamayo said as she removed the white robe she had over her kimono.

.

Entering the other room, Tanjiro and Nezuko noticed Kaguya laying on the tatami mat with her legs in the air, moving them back and forth. Seeing the sight, Tamayo smiled sweetly. Then sitting down, she faced the siblings.

.

"Now, judging by your looks, you both are probably wondering if it's difficult for me to look at injuries as the one the lady had?" Shocked at her question, both Tanjiro and Nezuko couldn't hide their astonishment fast enough, as Koharu began to stifle her giggles.

"I'm sorry. But those faces are seriously funny." Koharu spoke.

"Koharu…" Tamayo spoke, causing Koharu to stiffen.

"Yes, ma'am." Koharu replied with a focused demeanor.

"Serve you right." Yushiro whispered only to get smacked in the back of the head. "Ow, what…" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Suzuha standing behind him.

"Oh, you're back already?" Tamayo asked before continuing. "So, did it work?"

"He began to calm down but won't know the results until the sun rises." Suzuha answered.

"Wait, what's going on?" Nezuko asked as she began to look all the demon's present in the room.

"Sorry, allow me to explain." Suzuha spoke up as she sat to Tamayo's left and began to explain the situation. "Tamayo and Yushiro are the only demons who have successfully adjusted their bodies to survive on small amount of human blood."

"Blood?" Tanjiro repeated.

"While you may find it distasteful, it's what we do to survive instead of consuming human." Tamayo answered Tanjiro's question.

"Then, what about…" Tanjiro turned his attention to the two demon siblings.

"We require no blood to survive. Just as you saw me eat that bowl of udon, my sister, as well as myself can go without consuming either humans or their blood." Suzuha answered.

"And why's that?" Nezuko spoke up after turning her attention away from Kaguya.

"Because…I assume Kaguya was asleep until just recently?" Suzuha asked, getting a nod from both Tanjiro and Nezuko. "Well, just like her, both my sister and I have been asleep, so our bodies had undergone a significant change."

"A change we really don't know about, but we no longer feel the presence of Kibutsuji." Koharu spoke up, causing the two siblings to look at her with shocked faces, and causing Koharu to laugh. "What's with those faces?"

"I believe you said Kibutsuji's name, Koharu." Suzuha answered as she looked at her sister.

"Oh, did I?" Koharu said nonchalantly.

"Wait, did you two get your bodies adjusted, just like Tamayo?" Nezuko asked.

"No, we didn't." Suzuha answered Nezuko's question. "I believe you've met a woman named Lily, correct?"

"Yes, we have, why?" Tanjiro asked.

"Well, some time ago, I believe it was 8-9 years ago, Lily gave us a concoction that completely removed Kibutsuji's cells from out bodies. Due to that, we've no longer had any sort of appetite for humans as much. But that is not to say we don't feel attracted."

"As of right now, the only thing that'll get out blood boiling is people with marechi. Since marechis' are practically a feast for demons." Koharu followed her sister's comment.

"Have you guys ever ran into people with marechi?" Tanjiro asked.

"Luckily, no. But that doesn't me we can rest easy. We always have to be on edge." Suzuha answered.

.

As the bombardment of questions continued, the group hadn't noticed that Kaguya had gone missing. Noticing this after several minutes, Suzuha disappeared before anyone can noticed her leave. Outside looking up at the moon, Kaguya held in her hand, what looked to be a piece of folded cloth. As she then turned her attention towards the cloth, she opened to reveal what was in between the folded cloth. Inside were tens of hairpins all perfectly aligned with each other, like prizes. Gritting her teeth, Kaguya tried her best to hold back her tears. Then hearing footsteps, Kaguya wiped what tears had formed in her eyes and looked behind her.

.

"Sorry, I know you tend to want to be alone when it comes to mourning, but I thought it be best to stay by your side just this once, Lily." Suzuha answered as Kaguya turned her way.

"It's fine." Kaguya answered. "Kaguya. Name: Kaguya."

"My mistake, Kaguya." Suzuha corrected herself, then sitting next to her, Suzuha began to speak. "Does it always hurt when you find something that once belonged to a human?"

.

Kaguya nodded her head in agreement.

.

"I see. What are you going to do then?" Suzuha asked.

.

Then without wasting a second, Kaguya began to put the hairpins in her hair. Moving her bangs to the right of her head, she placed one to hold the hair in place. This one had small flower patterns on their ends. Kaguya then began to tie her hair back and then placed a semi-circle comb just below where she tied her hair. Grabbing another with two small sticks, with also a flower patter at its end. Then grabbing one last one, which had a purple clear ball with a stick piercing it, Kaguya placed it where she tied her hair. Seeing this, Suzuha was still trying to comprehend why Kaguya would do such a thing, but her thought process was cut short due to the young demon kicking her back with such a force.

.

"What the…" As Suzuha looked at Kaguya, she noticed her leg missing, and the house full of holes. "What's going on?" Looking towards where the entrance was, Suzuha saw something that nearly shook her to her core.

.

Hearing the sound of girl giggling with joy, then a male's voice spoke up.

.

"Did you decide how to kill them?" The man asked.

"Vindictively, of course." The woman said as threw what looked to be Temari balls.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: First let me just say, I'm sorry. I've been reading other fanfics before right this, and just finished watching the last episode of Kimetsu No Yaiba, so halfway through the story it may not make sense, so just wanted to apologize and thank you for your support.**_

* * *

.

Watching from a distance on a rooftop seeing the battle between demons and demon hunter go underway, a woman stood in the cold wind. Wanting to see the outcome may be a man appeared behind her.

.

"Your orders, Lily?" the man asked.

"Leave them be. They're in good hands with the demon sisters." Lily responded, as she began to walk away, her kimono fluttering in the cold city air.

"Are you sure?" the man asked once more.

"I'm positive." Lily answered as she looked back. "If they continue to ask me for help, they won't ever become stronger. They must also learn to forge their own paths. That's what it means to shine like a Star."

"Understood." The man responded. "Then what would you have me do?"

"Continue searching for Upper Moon 1's descendant. Until then, nothing more." Lily answered as she jumped off the roof, without hesitation.

"That woman…She never truly rests, does she?" As the man looked at the ensuing battle, he continued to watch for a bit, until after seeing the group separate.

.

_**In a deserted alley…**_

* * *

.

As Lily continued to walk, she held onto the wall for balance. But as she did, a couple of men had walked down that same alley and took note of her. Seeing her prominent figure, her silky black hair, as well as her fine, pristine face, one of the men was overwhelmed with lust, he made a move on Lily.

.

"Hey, missy. Looks like you could use a hand. How about hanging out with a man such as myself, I promise to make you feel better." The man said with confidence he could win Lily over.

"Stay out of my way." Lily replied as she continued to walk away.

"Tch. Get over here!" The man said as his short-temper took over and grabbed Lily's arm, only for him to be dragged forward. "_Man, she's strong_." The man thought to himself.

"Let…go." Lily said as she turned around to look at the man.

.

As the man stared at her eyes, he saw how crimson red they looked. The intent behind them, was enough to send him into shock. As he ran out of the alley, screaming his head off, Lily continued to walk until the other man spoke up.

.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Just leave me alone." Lily responded.

"Let me help you. Where do you want to go?" He asked again as he began to approach her. "I have an automotive. I can drive you wherever you want."

"There's no need." Lily answered still with the same voice of malice.

"Just let me help." The man said as he grabbed her arm without hesitation.

.

In the next moment, he felt a gust of wind blow him back, but the man still held on. As he then blinked, he noticed how his feet were just hanging. As he looked down, he noticed himself hanging from Lily's hand just on top of the rooftop near the alley he was just in.

.

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" Lily repeated her question.

"I know. And I wish to repay you for what my friend did." The man said as he gripped Lily's arm. "So, let me just help."

"If you get involved with me, you're only asking for death." Lily answered as she threw him onto the roof. Then after several seconds of waiting, Lily spoke up again. "If you truly wish to help me, then…" Lily bit her right thumb and placed it in front of the man. "Become one of my Stars and do whatever it is I tell you to do. But just note, if you accept my proposal, you will no longer be human."

"No longer…" The man said with hesitation, but after another several seconds of silence, he cupped his hands and began to catch Lily's blood. "I have nothing else to lose. I lost everything I've ever cared about. If I am to die like this, then so be it."

.

As Lily's blood began to fill, her wound closed and the man drank the blood that was in his hands, making sure that he did not drop a single drop of blood. As he drank it, he felt his body begin to warm up. He didn't feel any pain, he didn't feel any fear. He just felt…free. Looking up, he noticed Lily smiling sweetly. As she extended her hand out, she placed her right hand on the man's left cheek.

.

"I've had my eyes on you for quite some time, young man." Lily said. "You're honest with what you do, you always do things for others without asking for anything in return. You are far more human, then those who call themselves humans."

.

Hearing her words, the man began to tear up. Seeing this, Lily began to wipe the tears away before continuing.

.

"Honestly, I half-expected you to just say, 'Let me plummet to my death' but instead you surprised someone like me." Lily said as she go up to her feet and extended her hand out for the man to grab. "I welcome you, my new Shining Star."

"Thank you, Lily." The man's eyes then widened as he said a name that was always on him mind. "Wait, why did I say that?"

"Anyone who drinks my blood, will only have the memory of my name in them. That is proof that I trust you more than anything in this world. Tell me your name."

"Naoki." The man said.

"Naoki…Naoki… From this point forward, Naoki is dead, and Minoru had taken his place. Understood?" Lily answered as she got a nod from the newly created demon.

.

As the two demons began to walk down the filled street of the city, they began conversing on what to do next. As he looked back, Minoru sighed, before continuing on this new path he had been set on.

.

_**A few days later…**_

* * *

.

"It's a shame we had to leave Koharu. I wish we could've brought her with us." Nezuko said as she walked by her brother's side.

"Yeah, but we could only carry one thing on our back." Tanjiro answered his sister, after which was interrupted by their crows telling them where to go next.

"Tanjiro Kamado." Tanjiro's crow spoke. "South, Southeast. Your next location is South-southeast."

"Nezuko Kamado." Nezuko's crow spoke. "South-Southeast."

"Alright, I hear you!" Nezuko said as she grabbed her crow and held it in her hands. "I hear you so please stop." Nezuko begged. "Please, I'm begging you!"

PLEASE! I BEGGING YOU!" A voice yelled so loudly that it literally caused Tanjiro and Nezuko to lean back in shock.

"Huh?" Tanjiro and Nezuko responded as they noticed a boy with short bright blonde hair.

.

_**Several Minutes Later…**_

* * *

.

Walking down a quiet path, Tanjiro and Nezuko met the crazed-out boy, Zenitsu Agatsuma. He wore the standard Demon Slayer uniform, as well as a white-triangle patterned yellow haori. After having him relax for a few short minutes, the trio then began their journey to their next location.

.

"So, Zenitsu." Nezuko spoke not being able to handle the silence.

"Yes, Nezuko-chan?!" Zenitsu spoke up quickly after hearing the young demon slayer girl speak.

"Okay." Nezuko said in embarrassment. "So, what made you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"

"Ah, well…" After explaining his situation to the Kamado siblings, who were actually listening very intently just kept silent.

"I see." Nezuko said while her voice began to crack. "That's so sad."

.

As Nezuko began to think on how to make the situation better, Zenitsu turned his attention towards the boxes that hung from the Kamado siblings' shoulders.

.

_**After another several minutes…**_

* * *

.

"I'm leaving this here with you." Tanjiro said as he removed the box that was hanging from his shoulders. "No matter what may happen, you two will be protected."

"Should I leave this as well?" Nezuko asked as she tugged on the straps of the box.

"No, we may need it later." Tanjiro answered before turning his attention back to the young, frightened kids. "Listen, no matter what happens, don't ever leave this box alone. You hear me?"

"Yes." The young boy named Shoichi, said as he held his baby sister, Teruko in his arms. "I promise not to leave it."

.

Hearing those words come out of Shoichi's mouth, Tanjiro got up to his feet and began walking towards the house of the demons. As Nezuko followed her brother, with Zenitsu following just behind her, the trio entered the house leaving the two scared children behind.

After seeing the trio leave, Teruko turned her attention towards the box. Walking up to it, she placed her hand on it to see what it actually was.

.

"Teruko, what are you doing?" Shoichi asked as he saw his sister placing her hand on the box.

.

Worried for her sake, Shoichi moved closer to the box, but as he did, all the fear that he had on his mind, suddenly vanished. As it did, it was replaced with bravery and strength. Realizing this, he didn't know what to do except to stand there and listen to what sounded like the changing of seasons.

.

_**Inside the demon's House…**_

* * *

.

Walking into the house with Tanjiro in the front, Zenitsu in the middle and Nezuko behind the two boy. As the three entered, Zenitsu having his usual panic attack, began to speak.

.

"Tanjiro, you'll protect me, right?" Zenitsu said while tears had begun to form in his eyes.

"Zenitsu, not to put a damper on your plead for help, but I actually have a few broken bones from my last battle, and they haven't fully healed just yet." Tanjiro answered Zenitsu.

.

But just before could begin to panic, Tanjiro smelled something and turned his attention towards the entrance.

.

"No. You guys shouldn't be here!" Tanjiro exclaimed, as the two children ran through the hall to reach the group.

.

As Nezuko turned her attention, she noticed Shoichi carrying the box, which Kaguya was in, as he held onto his sister's hand.

.

"You two should've stayed outside." Nezuko said as the two children caught up to her.

"But…" Just as Shoichi was about to speak, the house had begun to creak and shake, causing Zenitsu to panic, and hit Nezuko and the young girl into the room next to them.

.

"Oh, sorry, my butt…" Zenitsu cut himself off due to seeing Nezuko and the young girl disappear in the blink of an eye. "Ah- where did they go?"

"I don't know." Tanjiro answered as he noticed his sister disappear.

.

_**With Nezuko…**_

* * *

.

Seeing the room, they've entered change completely, Nezuko continued to look around, when she felt tugging on her back. Standing still, Suzuha emerged from the box as she rolled onto the ground and stood up with such a force it completely scared the young girl.

.

"It's alright." Nezuko said as she bent down towards the girl. "Can you tell me your name?"

"T-teru-Teruko." Teruko introduced herself, without taking her eyes off the person who had just emerged from the box.

"This must be Kyogai's Demon Art." Suzuha responded as she noticed the rooms stop changing.

"Wait you know the demon?"

"I do. Tried to bring him over to my side. Didn't work too well." Suzuha responded to Nezuko's question. "If he comes allow me to take care of it."

"Right, then I'll focus on Teruko." Nezuko answered.

.

And after a few more seconds of silence, the three girls began to hear large footsteps coming from down the hall. As they all stood still they took in the massive demon appearance, they noticed his red scarlet eyes, three stripes on each side of his face. Sharp, and pointed teeth, with brown hair that curled just slightly upwards at the end. But what stood out the most, were the tsuzumis that stuck out of his body. Seeing the monster, Teruko was about to scream, but Nezuko stopped her by covering her mouth, but before any of the girls could make a move, the demon struck the tsuzumi on his stomach.

.

"Watch out!" Suzuha yelled as she practically kicked Nezuko and sent her flying into the other room, while Teruko was still within Nezuko's grasp.

"Hey, what did you…" As Nezuko looked back at Suzuha, she noticed her right leg missing, but it grew back in an instant. "Suzuha, are you alright?!"

"I'll be fine." Suzuha answered. "Just get Teruko out of here. Things might get dicey."

"Right. I'll be back, okay?" Nezuko yelled as she rose to her feet and grabbed the young girl.

.

Seeing the two girls run away into the depths of the house, Suzuha turned her attention towards the demon, who's smell caused the young demon to step back just a bit.

.

"To think you'd be back to try and convince me again." The monster spoke, his eyes showing a terrifying red aura.

"Well, I never would've come back here. But I had a couple things to take care of, Kyogai." Suzuha said with sarcasm as she rushed up towards Kyogai with the intent to kill him.

.

Watching the young demon rush towards him, the demon Kyogai readied himself to attack her.

.

_**Back to Tanjiro…**_

* * *

.

Walking around, smelling every time he walked, Tanjiro was looking around trying his best to find his sister, all the while Zenitsu was panicking. After a few more minutes, Tanjiro turned to the two boys.

.

"Zenitsu, could you quit panicking for a minute? Because, all I'm smelling at this point is the fear rising from your body." Tanjiro asked in the politest way he could.

"How can I?!" Zenitsu yelled. "This is where I'm going to die! No doubt about it! No doubt, no doubt, no doubt!" Just seeing him panic was enough to keep Tanjiro focused on what really mattered.

.

After another few minutes of walking, Shoichi stopped and placed the box he had on his shoulders down onto the ground.

.

"Ah, I'm sorry Shoichi. I should've taken that from you from the start." Tanjiro said as he picked up the box and placed his on his shoulders.

"It's fine. It wasn't that heavy-" Shoichi's mouth was then covered by Tanjiro.

"Zenitsu, quiet down." Tanjiro whispered.

"What? Why?! Why should I?! I'm going to die because you can't protect me!" Zenitsu yelled louder and louder, causing Tanjiro to yell over him.

"You're strong, Zenitsu! You are strong! So, quiet down!" Realizing what he had done, Tanjiro turned his attention towards the location where the scent was the most horrid.

.

Seeing a hand come out, the back of the hand was covered with a purple arrow pointing both ways. Then the demon's head came out and showed him having his pointed tongue out, another purple arrow on his nose pointing down, slitted green eyes, as wells as another pair above his opened ones that looked to have the expression of joy on them. The demon also had two small horns extending on top of his head. Seeing this demon as it laughed was enough to send Zenitsu into shock, that he just began pushing both Tanjiro and Shoichi as fast as his feet could take him.

.

"Zenitsu, what are you doing? We have to fight that demon." Tanjiro said as he tried to push back, only to pushed forward faster by Zenitsu.

"No! You're injured, and I'm of no use! We can't fight!" Zenitsu yelled as he continued to push the two boys for a full minute.

.

As he continued running while pushing Tanjiro and Shoichi forward, Zenitsu was pushed back slightly by Tanjiro, who at this point had just slightly managed to stop himself, only for it to be completely futile as, Zenitsu continued to push only to then fall to the ground, and grab Tanjiro, who just so happened to drop his sword, while trying to back up. Seeing the sword behind the demon, caused the two demon slayers to look at each other.

Rushing into another room, once again Zenitsu tripped, causing Tanjiro to go back and grab him.

.

"Come on, Zenitsu!" Tanjiro said as he picked up Zenitsu from his arm.

"I can't. 80% of my fear are in my knees. Just leave me. I'm dead weight!" Zenitsu said in a panic.

"That's not happenings." Tanjiro answered quickly as he picked up the panicked slayer.

.

As both boys looked back, the demon had crawled in, and looked at them with the look of hunger and curiosity.

.

"I'm going to guzzle your brain matter through your ears." The demon said chuckling.

.

Hearing this was enough to send Zenitsu unconscious, which really surprised Tanjiro and Shoichi. But without wasting time, Tanjiro picked Zenitsu up and backed up to the end of the room, all while trying to pull out the blade that sat in its sheath on Zenitsu waist.

.

"_Come on. A blades a blade. If I can use this…_" But Tanjiro's thoughts were cut short due to seeing a fast rapid tongue fly his way.

.

As he saw this, Shoichi held onto Tanjiro, only for the both of them to see the tongue bleed. With a quick motion, the unconscious Zenitsu stood and held his left hand back, indicating that they should not move. In the next moment, Zenitsu extended his left leg back and held his blade with his right hand on the handle. As he did, he began to breath outwards, which caused Tanjiro to smell an entirely different scent coming off of Zenitsu.

.

"Zenitsu…" Tanjiro said only to hear Zenitsu speak.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!" In the next moment, Zenitsu disappeared from sight and reappeared near the entrance from where the group of boys came. Then hearing the sound of a sword being placed back into its sheath, the head of the demon fell with a thump that it woke Zenitsu up. "Ahhhhh! It's dead! How is it dead?!" He then turned his attention towards Tanjiro. "Thank you, Tanjiro! You saved my life! How did you do that?" Zenitsu said as he rushed to embrace Tanjiro.

"Zenitsu, you did that yourself. As you can see I don't have my blade." Tanjiro said with a face of astonishment.

"What did you say?" But before Tanjiro could answer Zenitsu, the door behind the two opened and practically ran into both boys.

"Ow, that hurt." A female voice spoke.

"Ow. Nezuko?!" Tanjiro said as he looked to see his sister laying above Zenitsu.

"Ah, Nii-chan. I knew I was following the right color." Nezuko said as she looked at her brother with glee.

"Where did you come from?" Tanjiro asked as he picked his sister up.

"Well, after we go separated, Teruko and I met the master of the house, some demon named Kyogai. Suzuha told me to leave it to her, but we've been teleporting here and there for quite some time, then…ended up here." Nezuko said as shortly as she possibly could.

"Umu." Tanjiro answered as they began walking back through the hallway to grab his sword.

.

As they walked, Nezuko began walking down the same path she was on, where she saw a beautiful mix of blue, yellow, and gold flowing. After seeing the color again, she opened to see a frightened boy, who began to ease up when he saw his younger siblings. After taking care of his wound and explaining what happened the night prior. But as he did, like in most comedic battles, something or someone flew right past them, and crashed into the room behind the large group.

Turning to see who it was, they noticed Suzuha emerging, vein-like structures appearing on her face, as her eyes turned into a crimson red color as she began to smell the air around her. Then, turning her attention towards Kiyoshi, and began to grit her teeth. Seeing her try her best to resists, the siblings remembered what she had said several days prior.

.

"Zenitsu, stay with the children, we'll deal with demon." Tanjiro said as he gave Zenitsu the box he was holding before rushing forward.

"And also, try to find a way out by using the drum, alright?" Nezuko said as she rushed up towards Suzuha and placed cloth on her mouth, before grabbing her hand and rushing off to meet her brother.

.

Grabbing the drum from Kiyoshi, Zenitsu waited for the trio to enter the other room before banging on the drum. As he did, he noticed the entire room change, one room after another, Zenitsu continued to look and through the closed doors, before banging on the tsuzumi again.

.

"_How many time do I have to do this in order to find an exit…._" But his thoughts were cut short, when the entire room was flipped by 90 degrees.

.

As the entire group looked down, they all had the same expression on their face. Then as gravity kicked in, they all began to fall. As they did, door after door had begun to open.

.

"We're dead. We are so dead!" Zenitsu yelled. But as he did, he felt a tug on his back and noticed a small girl on top of the box. Without wasting a second, Kaguya grabbed a piece of Zenitsu's hair and swallowed it. "_She ate my hair…Why?_"

.

And like a light, Kaguya disappeared, and had begun to reappear every second, all while grabbing one of the children and then returning to grab another. This process continued on for a good while, until Zenitsu closed his eyes to see himself outside the house, with a shaking Kaguya in the shadows. As he approached her slowly, he noticed how severely burnt she was. Shaking without showing any signs of stopping.

.

"_Wait…she did all that to save us?_" Zenitsu thought to himself as he stared at the demon child. "_She risked herself by catching each and every one of us_?" As Zenitsu got closer, Kaguya huddled more and more into the shadows, trying her best to stay within the shade. "_And now she's scared, far more than me._ _If I was stronger, I've could've done that._"

.

As Zenitsu then took the open box off his shoulders, he placed it down in front of Kaguya who immediately rushed in and closed the small door behind her, hiding within the dark shadows of the box, once again.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, this is bad." Tanjiro said as he, Zenitsu, and another slayer named Inosuke laid side by side in futons, as they had heard from a doctor stating the severity of their injuries.

"Your right." Zenitsu answered. "Who would've thought that every one of us would have broken ribs." But in a split of a second, Zenitsu remembered something. "But, Nezuko-chan has it worse!"

.

But just as Zenitsu got up and rushed out the door, he bumped into the one person he was worried about.

.

"I can see you're a bit better than yesterday, Zenitsu." Nezuko said as she looked up to see Zenitsu turning a brighter red.

"Ne-nez-Nezuko-chan?" Zenitsu stuttered as he noticed Nezuko in a different light.

.

How her skin lightly glowed in the moons warm light. Her black hair spread along the wooden deck, with their mahogany red ends showing. Her violet eyes shining back the color of Zenitsu golden yellow hair. And her body, being wrapped in the soft cloth of the kimono offered by the Wisteria Household. As it parted during their fall, Nezuko's right shoulder was exposed slightly, and it opened to just above her chest, showing a bit of her cleavage. Seeing the situation, Tanjiro rose and removed Zenitsu quickly before anything else happened to his sister.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

* * *

.

Hearing the sounds of struggling and grunting, Kaguya got out of her box and looked around the room. As she looked at the paper window, she noticed the sun was high in the sky. As the voices continued to struggle, she heard Nezuko's voice along with another, but she couldn't tell who it belonged to.

.

"Come on, Inosuke! Quit struggling, or your going to get badly cut." Nezuko yelled as she tried her best to keep Inosuke down on the wooden deck.

"Let go of me!" Inosuke said.

"Hmmf!" Fine." Nezuko huffed, before coming up with an idea. "You're right. It must be difficult for someone like you to stay still for so long." Turning her attention towards Inosuke, Nezuko saw a vein pop up. "But I mean, for someone like you, it would be very simple and easy. But, oh well. I guess even someone like you can stay still." Nezuko smiled.

"Haah?! I can stay still! I BET I CAN STAY STILL LONGER THAN ANYONE HERE!" Inosuke proclaimed loudly.

"Is that so?" Nezuko said while she gave a smug-like smile. "Then let me see you do it."

"OH, I'll show you. Don't go and make me rip that hair off your head."

.

Then Inosuke, sitting like a statue, stay completely still. As he did, Nezuko began to cut his long eyelashes, and trimmed down his hair just a bit. As he sat there, he heard the snipping of the scissors and smelled the fine lightly burned scent of coal coming off of Nezuko, causing Inosuke to feel all giddy on the inside. After another few minutes or so, Nezuko finished.

.

"There all done." Nezuko said with a smile as she entered the room where Kaguya was.

.

_**Later that night…**_

* * *

.

Looking out towards the night sky, Suzuha just stood in the light of the moon, when the head of the Wisteria household came behind her.

.

"May I offer anything to you, young miss?" The old lady asked.

"Oh, no. It's fine. Really." Suzuha answered. "I'm not part of the Demon Slayer Corp."

"Oh, is that so?" The lady said, only to then repeat her question. "Are you sure, I'd be willing to serve you anything you'd like."

.

But before Suzuha could reject the lady's kind offer again, her stomach answered for her.

.

"Then can I have a bowl of ramen with tempura." Suzuha answered sheepishly. "I'll be sure to pay you back."

"There is no need. Just simply continue to work hard on protecting those young children and I'll accept that as payment." The lady said as she walked away, surprising Suzuha to her core.

"How did she…" But Suzuha cut herself off and just smiled sweetly as she began to walk behind the lady towards the kitchen.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

* * *

.

Hearing the sound of a sword swing, Zenitsu woke up to see Tanjiro and Inosuke still sleeping. Opening the door, he noticed the sun rising over the mountains in the horizon. As he walked around the house, the swinging sounds became louder and louder. As Zenitsu then turned the corner, he noticed Nezuko swinging around her katana with conviction, and without rest. Even though she was sweating profusely, she didn't stop for a second. Swinging left, then up. Swinging right, then curving down. Twisting her body so she could spin left, then swinging her sword up. The fluidity of her movement were still rough but there was some progress. After a few minutes of doing the same routine, Nezuko stopped to take a breather for just a short second. Even though her right foot was injured during battle, she continued to stand on it. Then readying herself once more, she held her sword to her left, while supporting it with her right hand open upwards. As Nezuko's sword rested in the crease between her thumb and index finger, she closed her eyes and focused. Seeing her so focused caused Zenitsu to see her in a different light, and the sound she made in that moment caught him by surprise. It sounded wild but controlled. Peaceful, but terrified. Zenitsu never heard a sound such as that, ever since he met Nezuko, the sound she always made was like rushing water going down a rapid river. As entranced as he was, the sound stopped when Nezuko breath outwards, and placed the blade down. As she turned her attention around, the first thing she noticed was Zenitsu staring at her.

.

"Can I help you, Zenitsu?" Nezuko asked awkwardly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Zenitsu said in a panic. "It's just the sound I usually hear coming off of you changed that I was…sort of entranced by it." Zenitsu said as he looked down to the ground with embarrassment.

"Sound?" Nezuko said with curiosity in her voice. "What do I normally sound like?"

"Huh? Oh, well…you usually sound like the waves of a rapid river. Constantly fighting with yourself but focused on a straight point." Zenitsu answered.

"And what did I sound like that had you so entranced?" Nezuko asked as she sat down on the wooden deck of the house, wiping off the sweat with the towel provided by the House.

"Oh, well…like Tanjiro a bit. But maybe a bit more chaotic." Zenitsu said as he brushed his left index finger on his cheek.

"Chaotic, huh?" Nezuko said as she looked up at the morning sky.

.

As the two sat in silence, Zenitsu was trying to figure out a way to start the conversation again, but he couldn't figure out a way. Then after a few minutes, Nezuko spoke up again.

.

"I guess I am a bit broken on the inside." Nezuko stated with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Huh?" Zenitsu was caught off guard by Nezuko's sudden speech. "What do you mean?"

"I…most people have their own stories about joining the Demon Slayer Corp. Most reasons being to get revenge against the demons that took their families, or to protect other families so they don't go through the same situation as us." Nezuko spoke, waited for a bit to hear what Zenitsu had to say. But as Zenitsu said nothing, Nezuko continued. "To be perfectly honest, I don't remember what happened to my family. And each time I ask Nii-chan, he would steer the conversation away from it. Almost as if I had something to do with it."

"You don't remember what happened to your family?" Zenitsu asked.

"I don't. I only remember waking up in a small cave far from the mountain I used to live on." Nezuko answered Zenitsu's question before continuing. "But every time I think back, I could only remember the smell of blood around me, and nothing else."

.

Zenitsu then began to hear the sound of something breaking coming from Nezuko. If one sound wasn't enough, Zenitsu noticed that Nezuko was capable of created any sound she wanted just by how she felt. But in that moment, when he saw how she was at her lowest, a dark red mark was slowly stretching out across the right side of her forehead.

.

"That mark…" Zenitsu pointed out the mark, while Nezuko touched it lightly with the tip of her fingers.

"Oh, this…This was a scar, but ever so often, it just disappears." Nezuko said as she pulled down her bangs to hide it from sight.

"I…I think it pretty." Zenitsu said while blushing a bright red.

"Ah…thank you…" Nezuko answered sheepishly while twiddling with her thumbs.

.

Once again silence had taken over the area around the two young demon slayers. Then remembering why he came out, Zenitsu turned to Nezuko and spoke.

.

"So, what were you doing earlier, Nezuko?" Zenitsu asked.

"Oh, during the battle with Kyogai, I realized how weak I was…so I thought if I can improve on my speed and swings, I may be of more use to everyone I'm with." Nezuko answered. "But because of my foot, it makes it more difficult." Nezuko spoke with embarrassment.

"Improve your speed…" Zenitsu looked up wondering what he could do to help.

"Oh, I heard from Nii-chan that you slayed a demon with such speed you were a blur." Nezuko spoke quickly after. "So, do you think you could give me some tips on how to move faster."

"Oh, I'm not strong at all. It was Tanjiro who did that. I passed out halfway." Zenitsu said sounding a bit deflated.

"If you were weak, you wouldn't have survived the Final Selection, Zenitsu." Nezuko spoke softly.

"Huh?" Zenitsu looked towards Nezuko, only to see a face of confidence and determination.

"Only the strong persevered through the Final Selection. And I don't know why you pass out, but I believe you pass out, so you don't have to admit the strength you truly possess." Nezuko said as she brought her face a bit closer to Zenitsu to look at him directly in his eyes. "I can see the colors of people souls. And yours is a strong golden color. It's so thick that I feel like I'll suffocate if I got too close."

"A golden color?" Zenitsu repeated as he noticed Nezuko getting closer.

"That's right. And I've seen a lot of different colors, but none of them, not even my brother's compares to yours. So, stop telling yourself that your weak. Because, out of everything, your soul doesn't lie." Nezuko said with a beaming smile as she got up to her feet.

"_She thinks that a weak man such as me, is strong? But the way she sounded; she didn't lie._" Zenitsu thought to himself, but still couldn't bring himself to believe. Seeing this, Nezuko turned around and spoke.

"I don't care how longs it takes; I'll wait for the day for when you finally realize your true potential." Nezuko spoke with her back facing Zenitsu.

.

Listening from the shadows of the house, Suzuha and Kaguya noticed the two. But in Kaguya's eyes she noticed their colors dancing peacefully around each other. Something she had never seen before. Because of this, a smile showed itself on Kaguya's face.

.

"You seem happy about something, Kaguya." Suzuha whispered when she noticed Kaguya's smile.

"Colors…pretty." Was all the young child said before returning to her box to sleep.

"Colors, huh?" Suzuha repeated before returning to the shadows as well.

.

_**Several Days Later…**_

* * *

.

After hearing from the doctor that their injuries were fully healed, the four teens set off to the one place were one of their traveling companions never wished to return to.

.

"I feel bad for Suzuha." Nezuko said as she walked side by side with Zenitsu.

"Why do you say that?" Zenitsu asked when he looked at the box that held Suzuha.

"Well, from what she told us, she just escaped Mt. Natagumo. And now, she's returning there with us." Nezuko said as she felt a kick coming from the box. "Anyways, we should hurry. Come on!" Nezuko said as she began running towards their destination.

.

As the other three had begun to rush forward, Zenitsu looked at the two boxes that laid on the Kamado siblings' shoulders. He knew those were no ordinary boxes, in fact he had a small conversation about them with Nezuko. Those boxes were more important than their lives. If push came to shove, the Kamado's wouldn't hesitate to throw the boxes down into the river, or hand them over to their only friends, Inosuke and himself included, so that they would protect it if they had failed to do so. Just remembering the conversation was enough to make Zenitsu hear the sound of fear rise so loudly from Nezuko. But remembering he taught her some basics he remembered from his time under his Gramps. Hoping it be enough to protect her, Zenitsu prayed as he ran to his next destination.

.

_**Several Hours later…**_

* * *

.

Coming out of their boxes, Kaguya looked up at the sight she had never seen before but looked at it with disgust. However, to Suzuha she looked at it with fear. She had begun to shake uncontrollably, almost to the point of collapse. But that never happened, due to Kaguya grabbing her hand and held on like her life depended on it. After calming down a bit, Suzuha thanked Kaguya and rushed forward and disappeared into the shadows of the mountain.

.

"Was it alright to let her go on her own?" Zenitsu asked before continuing. "I mean, you guys were supposed to protect her, so…"

"Zenitsu…she's the one that told us to let her handle her family." Tanjiro answered. "Let's just let her do what she wants." Even though Tanjiro said that, Zenitsu heard Tanjiro's sound change just slightly but was then changed back to the sound he was used to hearing.

"Let's go." Nezuko said after a few awkward seconds of silence.

.

_**Inside Mount Natagumo…**_

* * *

.

Seeing the bodies of deceased, or close to deceased, demon slayers walking towards a man with a tattoo of what looks to be a star-emblem on right of his neck saw all the demon slayers and gave an expression that only read pain. As the moon shined on them through the cracks of the trees, they showed signs of massive bleeding, and loose or broken arms and legs, but continued to walk as if they were being controlled.

.

"I am sorry for you lot, but in order to relieve you of your suffering, I only ask that you allow me to take you life. Just as my son had taken yours." The man said with a voice as smooth as silk.

"P-pl-please." Several voices spoke seconds apart from each other asking for the pain they have endured to this point to end.

"Very well." The man answered as he began to breath inwards ever so gently. "_Breath of Balance, 1__st__ Form: Gentle Breeze._"

.

As he said this, the heads of the slayer all fell off their bodies without making a sound as they fell to the ground. As it did, he prayed before continuing onward.

.

_**Several Hours Prior…**_

* * *

.

"Huh? You found Rui?" The man asked.

"Not so much as found, but…yes." Lily answered.

"What do you mean?" The man asked once more.

"I… 'ran' into him 9 years back." Lily answered with embarrassment.

"You mean to tell me, you saw my son, and didn't even bother telling me!" the man yelled to the top of his lungs.

"Yes. And I'm sorry for that, but I had my hands ties with two other demons." Lily answered.

"Oh, those girls… then, please forgive me for my outburst." The man apologize as he place his head on the table.

"Chosuke, there is no need for you to apologize. In fact, it is I, who must apologize. Because I changed you into a demon for the sake of killing your own flesh and blood."

.

A moment of silence was brought between the two, but that silence didn't last long, since the demon Chosuke spoke up right after.

.

"So, where is he?" Chosuke asked.

"Mount Natagumo. He's created a fake family so he could try to fill in the void he created." Lily answered.

"I'll leave as soon as I can." Chosuke added. "But this does not mean I'm turning my back on you Lily. I made a promise, and I intended to keep it."

.

_**Present Time…**_

* * *

.

Remembering that, Chosuke continued forward but then heard the rustle of branches above him. As he looked, he noticed a figure hiding, but didn't attack right away, since he knew who it was. Upon closer inspection, she wore what looked to be heavy fur clothing, from her hat to her boots, were all covered with fur to show her background in hunting and survival. Seeing this, Chosuke smiled and spoke to the figure.

.

"It's nice to finally meet face-to-face, Yuki." Chosuke spoke as Yuki sat down on the branch.

"You're right." Yuki spoke as she tilted her head slightly to the left to allow the light of the moon to shine on her right eye and show the same emblem Chosuke had, but on top of her right eye. "It's great to finally meet you, Chosuke the 1st."

"If I'm the 1st, then you must be the 8th, correct?" Chosuke added after hearing Yuki speak.

"That's correct." Yuki added with a smile. "But who knew that there would be three Stars here."

"So, you could only sense one." Chosuke replied as he shook his head. "You must open all your sense, but I don't blame you, since you were just joined Lily's Stars about 2 years ago, yes?"

"That's right." Yuki answered as she got to her feet. "Well, I'll be going this way, I'll be sure to send you a signal if I run into Rui." And like that, she was gone. Never made a sound as she jumped from branch to branch.

.

Watching as the youngest member of the Stars disappeared into the night, Chosuke smiled warmly before turning his attention deeper into the forest.

.

"Even though she's the youngest, she sure is the quickest learner of us all." Chosuke said to himself as he ran farther into the forest, in search for Rui.


	11. Chapter 11

Sitting in the highest tree the forest could offer, a woman with long grayish-black hair that parted just above her nose, covering her eyes, sat looking down at the ground below. She wore what looked to be a pure gray base kimono with a black sash, as well as a black haori. This woman then placed her hands together and prayed. Then after a few moments, she spoke up.

.

"Oh, Gods up above." She prayed as she looked up towards the moon. "May the light of our Stars shine a path towards salvation for the children who are lost in this mountain of misery." The woman then extended her hands out and began to reach for the moon as it shined before her. As she did, a slight breeze blew, revealing her left eye as it had a small star emblem directly on it. "And may the Stars who fight for the sake of others reveal their true strength for those said others."

.

_**In the forest below…**_

.

As both Tanjiro and Inosuke entered the forest, Tanjiro looked back for a bit, then focused on his path. Looking around, he began to try and sniff out his enemies, but a horrid and putrid smell stung his nose with such an attack, that it caused Tanjiro to stop in his tracks.

.

"Huh?" Inosuke stopped to as he looked back towards Tanjiro.

"Sorry about that." Tanjiro answered as he began to rub his nose. "The smell this forest is giving off just took me by surprise."

"Are you really that weak, Gunpachiro!" Inosuke yelled, only to then turn his attention toward someone walking with fear in their step.

.

After meeting up with the fellow slayer, who was known as Murata, he began to explain that his fellow slayer had just begun to attack each other out of nowhere, but their attacks only lasted for a few seconds when a gray blur suddenly whipped past them and hung them in the trees.

.

"So, this…blur just flung the other demon slayers up in the trees, where exactly?" Tanjiro asked after hearing Murata speak.

"Oh, just a bit that way." Murata said as he pointed slightly left. "I came this way to see if there were others. Then I ran into you."

"Then why were you scared?" Tanjiro asked yet another question, only for his question to be answered by what sounded like wires. Looking around, Tanjiro couldn't tell where it was originating due to the mountain's smells.

"That's why I was scared." Murata spoke up. "I soon as I and the other Mizunoto's entered the mountains, I heard that sound, then everyone began to attack each other."

.

_**With Nezuko and Zenitsu…**_

.

With Zenitsu tailing behind Nezuko, Nezuko continued to look around for any sign of movement. As Zenitsu continued to shudder in fear, Nezuko continued to grit her teeth, but was cut short due to a horrific color to fly directly into her eyes. As the color did, she held her eyes in pain.

.

"Nezuko-chan?" Zenitsu said with fear as he knelt by the young girl's side. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Was Nezuko's only response. "I don't like the color this mountain is giving off." As Nezuko looked up, she noticed a figure sitting on the highest tree. As she looked closer, this figure's color was a grayish-teal color, a color Nezuko never saw before. "What's- who's that?"

"Huh?" Turning his attention to where Nezuko was looking, Zenitsu noticed the figure too. As the woman sat steadily on the swaying tree in the wind above, she had her arms extended outwards towards the moon, but then placed then back in their sleeves.

"Who are you?" The woman said in a soft, low voice.

.

But before Nezuko could answer, Zenitsu placed his hand on her right shoulder and shook his head in fear. Practically giving the look of "_Don't answer please._" Nezuko stood up and placed her hand lightly on her sword, just as a precaution, since she didn't know if this new figure was her enemy or not. Staying completely focused on the figure, Nezuko quickly looked at Zenitsu, only to see a look of fear on his face. In that split second of looking away, Nezuko noticed grayish-black hair flow in front of her and saw the woman stared directly at her. But what was more terrifying in Nezuko's eyes, where that when she tried to pull her blade, she felt resistance, and when looking to see what prevented her from pulling her blade, she noticed the woman's hair wrapped around her blade. Preventing it from every leaving the security of the sheath.

As the two just stared, Zenitsu just stood there in fear, shaking beyond control. Then after a few seconds, Zenitsu fell to the ground. Or so he would have, if it wasn't for the woman's hair, as it wrapped itself in around Zenitsu and placed him gently on the ground.

.

"_Just who is this woman?_" Nezuko thought to herself as the woman's face never turned away. "_She doesn't seem to be a threat, but at the same time…_" Not seeing this woman give any opening, Nezuko removed her right hand from her blade, and at the same time, the woman's grayish-black hair had begun to undo itself from her blade.

"If you seek the one responsible, head west from here." The woman spoke softly, and just loud enough for Nezuko to hear. "Boy, take…care of her." And like how she appeared before Nezuko, she disappeared in the blink of an eye, and appeared back on top of tree where she just sat with her hands extended towards the moon.

"What a weird demon…wait did she say 'boy'?" Nezuko spoke to herself as she turned her attention to see Zenitsu standing with his eyes closed. "Zenitsu?"

"This way." Zenitsu spoke as he then began to rush west.

"Ah, wait up!" Nezuko yelled after him.

.

_**Meanwhile…**_

.

"Well, this is embarrassing." Suzuha said as she was hung upside down by wire threads. Each wire held at least one part of her body. One wire held her right arm out, her left bent close to her body, her left leg bent a bit upwards toward her chest, and her right leg extended outwards. All while smiling with embarrassment.

"This shouldn't be, Big Sis." Rui answered with his monotone voice.

"But it is. I never would've expected you to find me so fast. I'm actually-" Suzuha cut herself short as the wire that held her began to cut into her. As it did, Suzuha tried her best to hold in her screams as the wire ripped and teared her skin off. "This…isn't going…to make me talk, Rui." Suzuha spoke through the pain, trying her best to keep her calm smile.

"Oh, I don't plan on going nicely." Rui spoke once more, but with more malice in his voice. "I plan on keeping you hung up there until the sun rises. Then you'll know the pain I felt when you and Sis left me."

"Pain, huh?" Suzuha spoke as she tried to move her right hand, but only felt the sting of the wire cutting deeper into her. "You're the one who doesn't understand pain."

"Huh? Oh, please, do continue." As Rui said this, he clenched his fist tighter, causing the wires to tighten. Expecting something like this, Suzuha managed to hold back her screams, and looked at Rui directly.

"Because…I never came alone." Suzuha answered.

.

In that moment, Rui turned his attention towards his back only to feel his wires fall to the ground. As he looked back, he noticed a girl with black hair that had random white strands, opposite to Suzuha. As Koharu looked back, she said quickly.

.

"_**Blood Demon Art: Mist of Infinite Dreams**_." Koharu said as she flung her right hand that had been bleeding. As she did, her blood seemed to boil and turned into mist surrounding Rui and the two girls.

"Try getting out of your own nightmares, Rui." Suzuha spoke as she began to run away from where she was held prisoner.

.

As the sister had begun to run away from Rui, Koharu looked towards her sister.

.

"That was stupid and dangerous! You were really cutting it close there, you know?!" Koharu yelled as she began throwing fist at her sister, while at the same time running.

"I know. But I felt you coming, so I knew I'd be safe." Suzuha answered, trying her best to block her sister's fist of anger. "And besides, you figured out your Blood Art and Breath, I still need to figure out mine."

"That doesn't matter. We promised each other not to do anything stupid! So, don't go doing anything like that again, you hear!" Koharu continued to yell as tears had begun to form in her eyes.

"Yes, I prom-" But before she could finish her sentence, Suzuha stopped with all her might and tripped her sister as well to stop her before they ran into a bigger problem.

"What was-!" Koharu's mouth was covered by Suzuha as she told her to be quiet, as she pointed towards the cliff.

"It's Father." Was all Suzuha needed to whisper to grab Koharu's attention.

.

The two girls then looked towards a cliff in the distance. There sat a man in the moonlight, his hair shadowing his face completely. But his build is what scared the two the most. He had muscles on every part of his body. His arms were muscled to their max, as well as his legs. His abs were astounding at first glance, as well as his broad back. But one of the two girls knew the danger of angering a man like him.

.

_**12 Years ago, …**_

.

"Ahhh!" Suzuha screamed as Father had grabber her white, milky hair forcibly, not showing any signs of letting go. "Father, please! I don't know what I did to deserve such punishment, but please I beg of you to let go." As Suzuha spoke, tears began to stream faster and faster.

"You couldn't even figure that out for yourself." Rui spoke his normal monotone voice. "Your just as useless as Mother."

.

The torment continued for minutes maybe hours, Suzuha couldn't tell. As she watched her makeshift family just stare and did nothing to help. Seeing no one coming to the rescue, Suzuha accepted her fate and allowed the punishment to continue.

.

_**Present Time…**_

.

Shaking uncontrollably, Suzuha grabbed her shoulders and tried her best to control her fear. Seeing her sister shake, Koharu comforted her sister by embracing her.

.

"Remember, Suzuha…" Koharu allowed her voice to trial off so her sister could hear her. "We are no longer bounded by Rui or anyone. We only came here for her. She was the only one who treated us like we were her actual children. Only think of her and her safety and you'll do great."

.

Hearing her sister's voice talk calmly, soothed Suzuha enough for her to think straight. Looking at her sister in her eyes, Suzuha saw her conviction. Nodding in agreement, the two sisters began to follow the large number of small spiders, and the large amount of wires which led to the one person they came to grab.

.

_**Meanwhile, at the center of the Forest…**_

.

Giggling, and pulling at the wires that extended from each of her fingers, a woman with milky white skin, and hair to boot, which parts just above her forehead and tied with two beads, on each loose pig tails that dangle in the front, as the rest of her long hair flows down her back. She also has red dots that point down towards her nose just under her parted hair above her forehead, as well as on her nose, and on each side of her mouth. She also has plump breasts and wears a long white kimono with large sleeves. Then without wasting a second, she continued to pull at the threads that lie just at the tip of each of her fingers.

.

"Now, my little dolls." She said ever so sweetly. "Dance until your arms and legs fall off."

.

As the deceased Demon Slayers continued to strike at Tanjiro and Inosuke, as well as Murata, she paid no mind to her surrounding and continued toying with the trio.

.

_**Meanwhile, at an estate surrounded by Wisteria Trees…**_

.

"Is that so?" A man with black hair spoke to the crow that laid on his lap. "Then, most of my children have been slaughtered?" Breathing in, then out ever so gently, he turned his attention towards three people that sat within the shadows of the estate. One was an older gentleman who looked to be roughly in his 40s, and showed absolutely no hatred nor happiness, just the expression of peace. His hair was a faded red, which looked grayer than red. He wore a red Demon Slayer uniform with black trimmings, and a black haori. Then a girl who just wore a smile plastered on her face, and her eyes had large compound-looking eyes that do not possess pupils, only a haze of gradient, purple iris. She has short hair that fades from black into dark purple, fastened at the back of her head with a white and purple butterfly ornament with split ear-length bangs that rise a little away from her head before they fall down to frame her face, two thinner chin-length strands below them. She also wears a butterfly haori over her Demon Slayer uniform. Then a younger boy, who has medium length, messy black hair tied back into a low ponytail and dark blue eyes. "Giyuu, Shinobu, and Joichirou. I ask that you take care of the matter. Don't let any more of my children die."

"As you command, Master." The three answered.

"Don't you think it sweet if humans and demons could get along? Tomioka, Sensei?" Kocho Shinobu asked as they began to walk away from the estate before rushing towards Mt. Natagumo.

"It's impossible." Giyuu spoke without ever looking back. "If demons eat humans, we must eradicate them.

"That's not entirely true. There are certain demons who won't consume humans. I know because I've met them when I was younger." Joichirou spoke right after Giyuu.

"Really, then I'd like to meet them." Shinobu said while placing her hand together.

"I would love to show you, if I could ever find them again." Joichirou spoke before rushing forward far faster than the young Demon Slayers. "_If only…_" As he thought this to himself, he remembered seeing a young man with a star-like emblem on his left side of his neck. But coming back from his memories, he realized he had left the children behind, but continued forward without stopping.


	12. Chapter 12

Coming to the forest, and seeing all the dead bodies on the ground, Joichirou placed his hands together and prayed the fallen slayers a farewell.

.

"Did you know any of them, Sensei?" Shinobu asked as she looked around.

"Only a few." Joichirou answered as he rose to his feet. "Most of them were sent with Ozaki, and some became acquainted with her as well."

"Ozaki, huh?" Shinobu repeated the name Joichirou said. "She's a Mizunoto, and a Tsukugo, correct?"

"That's right. I'll be going Southeast, you two decide where you want to go." Then before any of them could see, Joichirou disappeared in the blink of an eye.

.

As the two young Hashira's began to run together, they eventually separated as they began going in different directions, with Shinobu going West, and Giyuu going Northwest.

Joichirou never stopped running. He just continued moving forward. Even with his frail-looking body, which still had a bit of muscle, unlike his teens to mid-20's, Joichirou searched frantically for the slayer known as Ozaki. Being that she was his only family, he couldn't…no, wouldn't lose another person who was precious to his life, once again. Nor would he waste the 2nd chance he had been given by the mysterious demon who had assisted him nearly 19 years ago.

.

_**19 years ago…**_

* * *

.

Joichirou was still new to the whole Demon Slayer Corp, but due to his immense strength and stamina, he had surpassed his peers within weeks. From being a Mizunoto to Kanoe in a mere 6 months, had astonished every slayer he had met. But he knew his efforts would soon catch up to him. Feeling the immense fatigue around his whole body, Joichirou felt himself getting weaker by the day. And it never helped that he was also…

.

"A marked one, huh?" Joichirou answered to himself as he looked in the crystal clear river as it reflected the sun's bright rays and showed his face. But his entire focus was on the mark that clearly didn't hide its existence from the world. Like a lightning bolt coming from the sky, its shape and form looked similar, the mark was on the right side of his face coming straight down from where Joichirou's forehead began to the base of his neck. As the mark cracked a bit in different places, the most noticeable crack was just a bit under his right eye, and just slightly near his nose. Joichirou was astounded as the mark that had just appeared without him realizing, was suddenly improving his stamina and strength to that of a demon. "I believe I've heard something about these marks from my family, but I can't seem to remember." As Joichirou sighed, he continued on his mission.

.

As he ran, Joichirou realized early on that if he uses too much of his stamina it affects him later on. In hopes to contain some strength, he slowed down his normal fighting styles and tactics. But it mattered not, as he began to realize his body still continued to move at speeds faster than humanly possible.

.

_**Later that night…**_

* * *

.

Completely exhausted and tired, Joichirou leaned against a tree in the middle of a forest clearing. Trying his best to calm himself while using his breaths had helped a bit, it didn't clear his head enough to sense the danger around him. Just barely hearing the rustle of leaves moving behind him, Joichirou dodged his attacker's attack. Then getting into position, Joichirou began to lean on his right foot while slightly extending his left leg outward. Then moving his chest a bit forward, he placed his right hand on his sword and waited for his enemy to move.

.

"You look exhausted, slayer." The demon spoke as he showed his face completely, only for Joichirou to see nothing on the demon's face to indicate his age.

"I see." Joichirou responded trying his best to ignore his sudden weakness. "You're a newly created demon, aren't you?"

"Why does that matter to you?!" The demon yelled as he rushed forward trying his best to strike at the now weak Joichirou.

.

Still being able to see the demon move, Joichirou focused all of his strength into defense, but the demon never gave him a chance to rest. Feeling his stamina depleting more and more, Joichirou began to think that his was his end. Then, jumping with the last of his strength, readied himself as he placed his hand on his sword, and waited.

.

"Wait, are you putting in a last ditch effort?" The demon asked as began to laugh. "You…really are pathetic!"

.

Not answering to his provocation, the air around Joichirou changed suddenly when his hand finally grasped his sword. Seeing this, the demon rushed up without hesitation. Waiting for the demon to get close as possible, Joichirou waited. And waited. Until finally, he released his sword slightly from its sheath.

.

"_Breath of the…_" But Joichirou was stopped himself from using his breath as someone had entered his field of vision, and completely punched the heck out of the demon and sent him flying. "_Who's that_?" Joichirou thought to himself as he began to relax.

"You alright, kiddo?" The figure asked after sending the demon flying.

"Kiddo?" Joichirou repeated as he never moved from his stance.

"You seem to be alright." The answered to himself, only for his expression to change quickly when he noticed the mark on Joichirou's face. Then looking down in defeat, he spoke once again. "I see, you're a marked on, too."

"Marked one?" Releasing himself from his stance, Joichirou began to ask the question that always plagued his mind. "Do you know what these marks are?"

"I do. And they are usually death sentences for humans." The figure spoke with sorrow in his voice. "Hey, kid." He said as he turned around to show a star emblem on the left side of his neck, which caught Joichirou's attention. "Take some advice from a demon who knows about the mark and forbid yourself from using it ever again."

"Wait, you're a…demon?" The shock that Joichirou felt in that moment was enough to make him to stumble backwards a bit.

"Not all demons are human killers and eaters." Seeing Joichirou take a stance again, the demon lifted his arms up in an attempt to show that he meant no harm.

.

As soon as he lifted his arms, Joichirou noticed three lines on his arms. Knowing what those were, he called out.

.

"You're an Edo criminal?" Joichirou asked.

"That's right. But, I was given a second chance by a woman who also happened to be a demon. But unlike other demons, she sought a peaceful world in which humanity can rest with ease." As he began to remember a woman dressed in a black yukata with the patterns of cherry blossom branches, he smiled and continued to speak. "After giving me my second chance, I told that just before I die of old age to change me into a demon, and she kept her promise."

"Why would you do that?" Joichirou continued his interrogation.

"Because I owe her everything." He responded with a serious tone. "She did not take advantage of my weakness, but instead took advantage of my strength, just a she had with all the other Stars." Then the demon had turned to leave. But just before he did, he spoke without turning his attention. "I suggest you cut that demon's head off, we took too much time talking. And I hope to see you again." And just like the wind, he disappeared without a trace.

.

After their conversation, Joichirou saw the demon that had attacked him impaled in the chest by a tree branch unable to move from where he was. Without wasting a second, Joichirou twirled with ferocity that he became a blur and sliced off the demon's head in one fell swoop. As the demon disappeared, Joichirou stumbled and fell to the ground out of pure exhaustion. Then as he awoke to the sun shining on his eye, he continued on his journey.

Wondering about the mark that was plastered on his face, he began to calm his raging heart and took a look in the river only to see the mark disappear like dust in the wind. Closing his eyes, he began to thank the demon who had helped him in his time of need and sought to find a way to live.

.

_**Present Time…**_

* * *

.

After reminiscing in the past, Joichirou began to focus on where he went. Seeing something reflect on his left eye, he looked up to see a ton of wires.

.

"The wires are thicker in numbers. The puppeteer is probably…" Joichirou was cut off due to a voice screaming in the distance. A voice he had clearly recognized. "Ozaki?!" As he began to look back and forth, he gritted his teeth and made a quick decision.

.

_**In the middle of the mountain…**_

* * *

.

Sitting on a boulder, pulling the strings with such ferocity, Mother Spider was in fear for her life, that she saw her puppets as nothing but a waste. But just before she could pull her strings back, she began to hear the crunching and rustling of leaves. Looking around frantically, she looked up to see a figure jumping from the treetops. Completely scared out of her mind, Mother Spider had completely frozen, unable to make a decision. But in that same second, she lifted her hand towards her executioner and accepted her fate. But the death she wished for had never come to pass. Instead she felt the strings on her fingers snap off. As Mother Spider opened her eyes, she saw a man with a figure that looked horrid, but the way he held himself was peaceful. If actions could speak, his actions had said: "_I'm not dying just yet._" And seeing this, she extended her hands out to him in desperation.

Seeing the pain in her eyes, Joichirou grabbed on of Mother Spiders hand and held it tight. Ever since his rescue from that demon, his views and principles on demons had changed significantly. Always giving demons a second chance if they ever asked for it, and this particular demon, her expression yelled to be saved.

.

"You've held on for quite some time, huh?" Joichirou asked only to see the woman in front of him change into a little child, who had begun to cry. "You know there was once a child that I knew who would've loved to have a great conversation with you. So, in her stead I'll have one with you. At least until another slayer comes this way."

.

As Joichirou said this, he sat on the ground and patiently waited for the demon to move. Seeing this, she slid down the boulder, and sat next to the man who gave her a second chance.

.

_**With Tanjiro and Inosuke…**_

* * *

.

After bandaging up the only slayer left alive, a young petite girl with wide, dark eyes and shoulder-length hair that was worn in a mid-ponytail, with shorter bangs left hanging over her face. As she sat looking at Tanjiro bandaging her left arm with was completely popped out of its socket and placed back with the help of Inosuke, she thanked him.

.

"Oh, and by the way, my name is Ozaki." Ozaki replied with a bright smile, which completely changed her character from before.

"And I'm Tanjiro. That's Inosuke. We're Mizunoto's who were sent to help." Tanjiro said with a beaming smile, which seemed to have calmed Ozaki's spirits for a moment.

"Ah, Sensei is going to kill me if he found out about this." Ozaki spoke as she leaned her head back in shame.

"Wait, Sensei?" Tanjiro asked, and at the same time it had also gotten the attention of Inosuke.

"Oh, that's right, you said you were Mizunoto's, like me huh?" As Ozaki thought about it, she nodded her head almost as if she agreed on something. "I won't tell you now, but if I survive this, I'll tell you, sound good?"

"Yes, please." Tanjiro said, only to see Ozaki's expression change. "Miss Ozaki, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, but I keep sensing a more dangerous presence just past that clearing over there." Ozaki spoke as she turned her attention to the young demon slayers. "Once I rest for a bit, I'll meet up with you again."

"But…" Tanjiro was cut off by Inosuke.

"Oh, you better, Kokaki!" Inosuke yelled. "Otherwise, I'll use you as a board!"

.

Laughing at the provocation, Ozaki's expression in that moment, caused Inosuke to become all giddy again. After answering to his provocation, Ozaki began to watch the two young Demon Slayers leave. Then once they were out of ear shot, Ozaki spoke up.

.

"If you were going to hide, then you should've hidden your presence better, demon." Ozaki spoke as she rose to her feet and grabbed her sword with her only good arm and pointed it into the shadows of the forest.

"Tanjiro…where?" Was all the voice said.

"Tanjiro…come closer." Listening to her words, a small figure walked out of the shadows. Her small stature, along with her long white hair, and an obvious haori that was too big for a girl like her, made her seem like a life-size doll. "A…kid?"

"Kaguya." Was all Kaguya needed to say in order for Ozaki to understand

"I see. You name is Kaguya." Placing her sword down, Ozaki sat down out of pure exhaustion.

"Guard…let down. Why?" Kaguya asked.

"If you wanted to attack me, you wouldn't have waited for me to speak. Because of that, I know you wanted to talk, not fight." Ozaki answered as she sighed a breath of relief from taking in the air around her.

"Arm…let me see." Kaguya asked once more as she had gotten closer, only to be pushed back.

"Just because I know you won't attack me; doesn't mean I trust you. Yet." Ozaki said with malice in her voice. "Sensei may trust you guys, but I don't."

.

But even as she said that, using her speed, Kaguya ended up right beside Ozaki and looked at her arm. Struggling to get away, Ozaki tried to move, but with Kaguya's strength overpowering her she gave in. For a few minutes of silence, Ozaki and Kaguya just sat, they did nothing but look at the arm that was rendered useless. As the night went on, the two whether they saw it or not, had gotten closer.

.

_**Wondering the vast forest…**_

* * *

.

Nezuko had begun to call out for Zenitsu, after somehow being separated from each other.

.

"How did we even get separated from each other." Nezuko spoke to herself as she began to think on how she got separated. But with nothing came to mind, she sighed only to then hear the sound of thunder. "Was that thunder?" Nezuko asked as she looked up to see no clouds in sight. "There are not clouds, so that couldn't be… Zenitsu!"

.

Now finally having a lead, Nezuko had begun to run in the direction of the sound where the thunder came.

.

"_Zenitsu, please be safe_." Nezuko thought as she began to run towards Zenitsu.

.

_**After battling Brother Spider Demon…**_

* * *

.

Through his wheezing, Zenitsu had begun to use his breathing as a means of slowing down his blood flow. Even though it was painful and in most times he wanted to give up, remembering how weak Nezuko looked on one of the last few night in the Wisteria household, made him try harder to survive. He knew deep down that it would break Nezuko if someone she was close to suddenly died, or worse turned into a demon. Then if the worse had happened, Zenitsu vision had started to dim, but still continuing to use his breaths to try and slow down his blow flow even more, he began to see what looked to be a butterfly.

.

"Hello?" A quiet voice spoke, only for it to get louder and louder, until it was within ear shot.

"Who's there?" Zenitsu asked without taking his eyes off of the moon.

"Oh, good your still there." Shinobu spoke with a bright smile, as she knelt down to get closer to Zenitsu. Then, placing her finger on his forehead, she nodded with agreement. "Looks like you slow your blood flow long enough to slow down the effects of the poison." As Shinobu said this, she pulled out a box, and removed a needle from it and began creating an antidote. "This should do the trick."

.

Picking up Zenitsu's now small arm, she injected the needle into it, which caused Zenitsu to grit his teeth a bit due to the foreign object. After doing so, Zenitsu felt the poison wearing off and he had begun to calm down. In that same moment, he began to hear footsteps, one's in which he knew all to well. Shinobu saw Zenitsu's expression change a bit and looked down to see Nezuko out of breath and looking upwards.

.

"I take it that this is your friend, little one?" Shinobu asked.

"Does he have golden hair? If so then, that is my friend Zenitsu." Nezuko spoke out of breath, but still standing. As Shinobu came down to greet her, Nezuko continued to look up at the house.

_._

Seeing the amount of people hanging from wires caused her hatred to boil, but unlike others, Nezuko knew how to contain such anger. But then realizing where she was, she began to look around for her brother. Or to be more precise, her brother's color. But not being able to see him or it, Nezuko spoke to Shinobu, who at this point landed right in front of her.

.

"Excuse me, Miss…" Nezuko just realized she didn't know Shinobu's name.

"Hmm? What is it?" Shinobu looked towards Nezuko after she spoke.

"Have you seen a boy with a scar on the left side of his forehead, by any chance?" Nezuko asked.

.

After thinking for a bit, Shinobu spoke.

.

"No, I haven't." Shinobu then turned towards the East and pointed. "I came from the East, just down that way. But I didn't see anyone with a scar on their forehead. Sorry." But as Shinobu looked back, she noticed Nezuko no longer standing where she thought she was, but instead running in the direction of where Shinobu came. "Uh…Hey!" Shinobu yelled as she began to chase after Nezuko.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note**: First off let me say, this was difficult to write, so the battles may not be interesting, but at least I tried. Second, I may have gone overboard when it came to the final fight with Rui, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy it.

.

* * *

.

_**Still within Mount Natagumo…**_

* * *

.

After being launched far from Inosuke by the hands of Father Spider, Tanjiro found himself lost in another part of the forest.

.

"_Oh man, I have to get back to Inosuke_." Tanjiro thought to himself as he continued to run in the direction from which he came. But then he stopped in his tracks when he smelled a scent he smelled only once before. "_Wait, wasn't this scent…Koharu's Blood Art!_"

.

Running towards the smell, Tanjiro believed he may have found an ally in which he could grab assistance from, but as he got closer to Koharu's scent, he smelled a malicious intent in that same moment. As a number of red threads launched themselves towards Tanjiro, the event happened so quickly that it was inhuman for that one second.

.

_**Back at the boulder…**_

* * *

.

With Mother Spider sleeping peacefully on Joichirou's lap, to anyone who just so happened to see the scene, for a second they would've thought that they be father and daughter. That just so happened when Ozaki walked up to the boulder.

.

"Sensei, what are you doing?" Ozaki asked.

"Shh. The child is sleeping." Joichirou placed his right index finger to his mouth to emphasize his words. "I understand that she was the one controlling you and your friend's actions, so I told her to rest before I gave her a punishment befitting for her actions."

"Okay." Was all Ozaki could say, when a crow flew overhead.

"Caaaww!" The crow screeched before giving its orders. "Joichirou Nakamura! Ozaki Yamamoto! Your orders are to return to the estate, immediately after assisting the Kakushi with reconnaissance. Caawww!" It crocked before flapping its wings and flew off.

.

After the crow left, Joichirou got up to his feet and picked up the sleeping child demon and held her in his arms. Looking around for something, Ozaki couldn't help but ask.

.

"Hey, Sensei? What are you looking for?"

"I promised this demon that I give her a just punishment after a slayer came, but it won't do any good if she's dead." Joichirou spoke as he then turned his attention towards Ozaki. "Let's go find the people who saved you. They may have something to carry her in." And with that Joichirou began to walk away, with Ozaki just behind him.

.

_**Running through the forest with all her might…**_

* * *

.

Nezuko was so focused on finding her brother, she placed all of her strength into her legs. Without realizing it, she began to see colors upon colors of gray, crimson red, and black all mixed together the deeper she went into the forest.

.

"_So, many colors. But they are not the colors that I'm looking for._" Still continuously looking for her brother's bright mahogany red color as she ran, Nezuko continued to see other colors except for the one she wanted. Then in that same moment, she saw a color she knew she was familiar with but had no clue as to where she saw the color last. As it swirled and chaotically crashed into each other, a dark faded blue began to appear in her vision. Out of instinct, she turned in the directions of the color and ran towards it, unaware that a certain young female was following her too.

.

_**Looking in awe, at the immense strength the man possessed…**_

* * *

.

Inosuke just looked at the demon slayer that had taken down the supposed member of the 12 Moons. As he began to feel himself get all giddy again, Inosuke snapped back into reality and yelled at the slayer.

.

"Hey! Hold up a second!" Inosuke yelled at Tomioka who was just about to leave. "Fight me, Mismatched Haori! You took down that 12 Moon demon. And I'm going to beat you! That's how I'll get stronger!"

.

Now that his attention was fully on Inosuke, Tomioka took a good look at the far too enthusiastic slayer, and sighed.

.

"Go back to training, idiot." Just a few short words that were straight to the point, caused Inosuke to back off.

.

Without even wasting a second, Tomioka began to unravel a rope and explained that the demon he had defeated was not a member of the 12 Moons. Shocked by this, Inosuke was just about to fight back, when he noticed himself tied up in the rope that was in Tomioka's hand and hung from a tree because of it.

.

"_What just happened_?" Inosuke thought to himself as he looked to the ground below him. "_He was so quick; I couldn't even see him_." As Inosuke hung there, he steadily began to see the gap between his skills and that of Tomioka's.

.

Looking off into the distance as he walked away, Giyuu realized how far he was gotten and decided to rush forward only to then see a young girl with white hair rush past him with such speed that it nearly tripped him.

.

"What was that?" Tomioka asked out loud to himself. Then realizing what that was, Tomioka began to rush only to hear the panting of another person behind him. Looking back, he noticed a young girl with violet red eyes, and black hair which at her ends began to fade into a scarlet red. Seeing this girl standing before him with a sword in hand, nearly gave him a heart attack. He remembered clearly on that cloudy day. When the snow had begun to fall ever so furiously. A demon girl with the girl before him sharing the same appearance. But in that moment, he remembered the girl's brother's words.

.

"_She's my sister! I don't know why this happened, but I promise you I'll find a way to turn Nezuko back into human._"

.

Remembering that boy's words caused Tomioka to stand in his placed and just say the name that had always been in his head.

.

"Nezuko." Was all he had to say for Nezuko to look directly into his eyes.

"Wait, you…you're…" Holding her head in pain as she began to remembering something that Nezuko believed she had forgotten, she remembering seeing the same haori on the man she saw before her. But still with no clue as to where she met him, she looked past him and saw her brother's color and ran as fast as she could to Tanjiro.

"Hey, wait!" Giyuu yelled as Nezuko began to run off, deeper into the forest. Still dumbfounded at the sight, Giyuu looked with confusion as he said to himself. "That boy actually did it. He managed to turn his sister back into a human." Then looking down at his hand, then up towards the sky, Giyuu said under his breath. "If it's possible for him to changer her back, then is it possible to changed every human who had turned into a demon back into human?"

.

Running with all the stamina she had left, Nezuko never stopped for a second. But ever so often, the face of the man she saw earlier would pop up in front of her. In fact, for the past minute, Nezuko believed that the reason she and Zenitsu were separated was due to some deep, repressed memories of hers blocked her vision so much that it caused her to slow down. But not wanting to waste a second, Nezuko focused on the path in front of her.

.

_**While avoiding all his enemy's attacks…**_

* * *

.

All Tanjiro could do at this point was try and create some distance between him and the demon in front of him. But even as the distance between the two grew, the onslaught of attacks just kept coming.

.

"_Damn. I can't keep this up._" Tanjiro thought to himself, as he skid backwards only to see the attacks stopping for some reason. "_Did he stop?_" As Tanjiro looked, he noticed the demon with spider-like hair looking behind him. But not wasting the opportunity, Tanjiro tried to get away, knowing full well that fighting a demon like that is suicide, only for a ton of threads to appear before him.

"Whoever said you could leave?!" Rui said with a sadistic smile plastered on his face, only for that face to change when blood splatted onto the threads.

.

As both parties looked in shock as to who they saw, Rui's blood began to boil when he noticed the face of the woman he despised the most. Tanjiro began to look in fear as he noticed the young figure with white hair move in front of him, without hesitation. And without wasting a second, both parties cried out.

.

"Lily!" Rui yelled angrily.

"Kaguya!" Tanjiro yelled out in desperation as he grabbed the young girl and hid behind a tree.

.

Grunting in pain after having her skin torn open by razon sharp wires, Kaguya tried to focus on healing more, but was to no avail, since she couldn't keep her mind calm. As Tanjiro desperately tried to find a way to keep Kaguya from falling apart, Tanjiro grabbed his blade, and sliced is left palm open to allow blood to flow onto his hand. Without wasting a second, he placed his palm on top of Kaguya's mouth, despite her trying her best to resist. Not wanting to see Kaguya in this much pain, Tanjiro lifted her head up, opened her mouth and placed his now bloody palm over her mouth. Even though she tried to resist, Kaguya began to feel blood flow into her mouth, then after another few seconds of struggling, Kaguya began to calm down, tear up, and accepted what was happening.

.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Tanjiro whispered as he noticed Kaguya beginning to swallow the blood that flowed into her mouth. "I'm sorry, but you need to keep drinking." Then, just when Tanjiro forgot about the situation he was in earlier, Rui spoke up.

"Boy, let's talk for a bit. Come on out." He said with a much calmer tone then with what he spoke with earlier.

.

Not knowing what to do, Tanjiro felt a grip tightening on his wrist. Looking down, he noticed Kaguya removing his hand from her mouth and ripped her haori from the bottom and wrapped it around Tanjiro's palm to prevent it from bleeding out.

.

"Tan-chi-ru." Kaguya tried to pronounce his name, but with sudden memories bursting into her head, it made it difficult to even speak, but she still struggled to. "Kagu-ra, fine. Fight."

"Kagura?" Tanjiro repeated, only to then see small flames bursting weakly around her body as she began to heal. "Okay." Getting up, Tanjiro placed down the box that hung from the straps on his shoulders and walked out to face Rui.

"Boy, if you don't mind handing that pathetic woman over to me, I'll be gracious enough to let you walk away from here." Rui said as he extended his hand out towards Tanjiro. "You see, I have a bone to pick with Lily."

"How do you know Lily?" Tanjiro said as he began to move slightly to his right to try and stay in front of the tree that Kaguya was resting behind.

"She helped me when I was human but refused to grant me her power." Rui spoke, but as soon as Tanjiro heard those words he began to smell the scent of disappointment and regret emanating from where Kaguya was.

"_Does Kaguya know something that I don't?_" As Tanjiro fully faced Rui, he solidified his resolve, and held his sword firmly in both hands and pointed it directly at Rui. "If you want to get to her, you're going to have to go through me. And I can assure you that a task such as this won't be easy for you."

.

As Rui stood there hearing Tanjiro's proclamation, he began to laugh maniacally. Unable to control himself, Rui just laughed and laughed. And after a few minutes of laughing, he sighed and spoke.

.

"If you won't give me to her, then…" Pulling on some wires that were on his fingers, Tanjiro heard Kaguya yell as she was pulled by the wires that hung from Rui's fingers. "…I'll just take her away from you by force." Now Rui's attitude suddenly changed once again. Pressing his forearm into Kaguya's neck, to try and prevent her from leaving, Rui, at the same time, waved his entire hand and whipped the wires that hung from all his fingers towards Tanjiro. "I can't have you in my way. This is just between me and Lily. I'll show her that she was wrong from the very beginning. Goodbye, useless boy."

.

Struggling to try and break out of Rui's grasp, Kaguya could only stare in horror as the threads came closer and closer to Tanjiro, who at this point was trying to rush in and save Kaguya. Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bright violet-red rushing towards the area. Then smiling, Kaguya yelled:

.

"Nezuko!" In that moment, Nezuko twirled in the air, and came rushing down.

"Breath of the Water, 1st Form: Water Surface Slice!" Nezuko yelled out loud as she landed in front of her brother and swung her sword with such a force that, just like Giyuu when he went to kill Nezuko (_when she was still demon_), caused dust to fly into the air blocking everyone's view. "Big Brother, are you alright?!" Nezuko spoke quickly, as her body was still continuing to produce a ton of adrenaline.

"I'm fine. But what about Kaguya?" Tanjiro began to look through the thick cloud of dust as it began to fall back to the ground.

.

As the area began to clear up, they noticed Rui standing there, with Kaguya no where to be seen. Seeing this, Tanjiro yelled out in frustration.

.

"Where's Kaguya?!" Tanjiro yelled as he pointed his sword at Rui only for it to be covered in massive blood, and bathed Nezuko's right side as well.

.

As the two Kamado siblings where shocked by this, they looked up to see a ton more wires then they had ever encountered, grabbing each and every part of Kaguya. From each knuckle in her fingers to wrapping multiple wires around her face and neck; To literally having a massive amount of wires covering the majority of her arms and legs; and several more covering her stomach. As each wire began to dig in more and more, Kaguya began to scream out in pain. She began to scream out so much, that tears had begun to form and fall towards the ground.

.

"Kaguya!" Nezuko chocked on her words as she tried her absolute best to hold back her tears. Then as she noticed her brother's color began to violently swirl, Nezuko looked towards Tanjiro, who was already past his limit anger and rushed without even thinking. "Big Brother!" Even though Nezuko yelled for Tanjiro to listen, fear had struck her enough to keep her from moving.

.

Letting his emotions take the better of him, clouded Tanjiro's better judgement. As he absent-mindedly swung his sword furiously to try and bring down the demon that had taken and tortured, his new precious family member. Smiling at the sight, Rui dodged all of Tanjiro's attack, but for a second, an image struck into his mind. He saw a man with long dark red hair, tied up into a ponytail. Unable to see his face, due to shadow was enough for the smile on Rui's face to disappear and turned his smile into that of a scared and worried expression. Moving into Tanjiro's blindspot, Rui kicked Tanjiro once to stop him, and a second time that sent him flying back. But at this point, Nezuko had gained enough courage to move, only to feel a blast of wind fly past her. Looking back, she noticed her brother falling towards the ground after practically smashing the boulder that was behind Tanjiro with his back. Changing directions, Nezuko rushed towards her brother's side, placed her sword down and checked her brother. Seeing him struggling to get up, was reassuring to her. Quickly looking back at Kaguya, Nezuko noticed her unconscious, probably trying to regain some of her strength from having so many wires cutting into her body.

Fully getting up Tanjiro turned to his sister.

.

"Nezuko." Tanjiro answered weakly, grabbing his sister's attention. "Let's use the Final Form together. If the two of us combine it, we could take his demon down. And if anything, he's probably one of the 12 Moons, seeing how he is easily taking us down."

"Right." Nezuko replied without hesitation. "The sooner we end this, the better it is for Kaguya."

.

As the two rose to their feet, they began to breath very deeply, then with conviction burning in their eyes, they both rushed forward. With each step they took, they began to rotate around each other, and continued to do so as they ran. Then yelling in their minds together in synchronization, they said.

.

"_Breath of the Water, Final Form: CONSTANT FLUX!_" Tanjiro and Nezuko said as they continued to move forward. Then behind the two of them, two dragon heads made of water followed, the tips of their blades.

.

As Tanjiro was the first to swing down on the oncoming wires, his sword cut them, with ease. Following, Nezuko rotated and switched places with her brother, and sliced the next oncoming wires. After she cut them, Nezuko leaped backward, allowing Tanjiro to slide right under the wires that were coming his way, and allowed Nezuko to jump over them.

.

"_We can do this!_" Tanjiro thought to himself.

"_Don't stop. No matter what!_" Nezuko thought to herself as she ran right behind her brother.

"_Keep going!_" Tanjiro continued to try and keep his momentum up. "_You got this!_"

"_Keep going!_" Nezuko still following her brother's lead. "_You…got this!_"

.

But even as the two siblings began to close the distance, Rui looked at them with disbelief.

.

"Tell me…" Rui spoke with his usual monotone voice. "…you really didn't think that those wires were at their strongest, did you?" As Rui's hands became red, he pulled the strings back and caused the wires to form a cage around the siblings. "I no longer have any use for you. Goodbye, insolent fools."

.

Upon seeing the red wires rush towards them, Tanjiro smelled a different scent coming off of them, and Nezuko seeing a darker red then before caused the two to believe their deaths were near.

.

"_There's no way we can cut these wires in time._" Nezuko thought to herself. "_We're going to die…Big Brother…_" As she then turned her attention to her brother, she noticed the same expression that she had on his face. As Nezuko tried to rush to her brother's side, as soon as she took another step, the wires had begun to slow in pace.

.

The wires had seemed to move slower and slower. And slower. And slower. Until finally, like the first night she woke up in that cave, when she saw Lily fight the first demon they encountered, she noticed how slow it had gotten. Then before she even realized it, Nezuko remembered something; something from a time, she thought she had forgotten.

.

_Her father, sitting down, while her mother began to cut vegetable, she then saw her mother turn around and began to speak. But her voice never reached Nezuko's ears. Then for the first time, she saw her father dancing the Kagura Dance._

_._

_ "Mother, how can Father move so much when he's so weak?" A young Nezuko asked._

_ "Well, he's breathing, and soon your brother will be breathing the same way, too. And continue where your father left off. Nezuko, remember this…No matter what may come, always look forward, and take a leap of faith." Nezuko's mother replied._

_._

"_Nezuko…" Lily spoke on her last night at Urokodaki's. "Remember the breathing technique I taught you."_

"_I never really thought about it, until now… but my whole world has been frozen this entire time." Nezuko said to herself._

.

Looking with conviction instead of fear, Nezuko, using all the strength left in her legs leaped forward in front of Tanjiro, and with all the strength she could muster, called out a form she had been practicing in secret, so that one day she could use it to stand toe-to-toe with her brother.

.

"Water Breathing, 11th Form: Raging Rapids!" With one swing of her sword, the dragon dispersed over a wide area, and ripped through all the wires and scattered them without a second delay. Then turning to her brother, she yelled. "Big Brother use it. Use the Hinokami Kagura!

.

Without wasting another second, Nezuko rushed up to clear a path for her brother, slicing and dicing anything in her way, with her brother right behind her, his blade burning a bright and beautiful crimson red. Seeing the two continuing their attack, Rui, using his wires began to swing backwards, to try and avoid their blades as much as possible. But with Tanjiro picking up speed and blazing off leaving his sister in the dust, Nezuko continued to run, only to then hear Kaguya's soft voice.

.

"Nezuko…use…this…." As Kaguya then extended her arm through the wires as it cut off more skin, Kaguya yelled. "Demon Blood Art: Blazing Dragon!" In an instant, Kaguya clenched her fist, to which it ignited the wires around her and Rui's as well, but not only that, it caused Nezuko's blue blade to be ignited into a dark crimson red color, opposite to Tanjiro's blade. Feeling her speed being boosted, Nezuko ran with all her might, jumped into the air and came crashing down.

.

Looking up in fear, Rui noticed Nezuko coming she did, Rui noticed the blood on her face beginning to form a mark on the right side of her face, seeing that mark, Rui panicked. Trying to put in a last ditch effort to save himself, he threw wires up at her only for them to burn before they even reached her. Lifting her blade above her head, Nezuko rotated in mid-air, something she had not been able to do perfectly before, but had done so now, as she did, she cut off Rui's hands and landed on all four and yelled.

.

"Big Brother, use me and finish this!" Using his sister as a board, Tanjiro pushed himself off, and jumped, his blade over his right shoulder, and swung with everything he had. As it made contact with Rui's next he spoke.

"Don't you dare, harm my family…EVER AGAIN!" And with one strong swing, Tanjiro had successfully cut of their enemy's head, in a blazing fiery ring.


	14. Chapter 14

_**300 years prior…**_

.

* * *

Once again running away from Kibutsuji, Lily continuously looked back to see her pursuer closing the distance. In a desperate attempt to give some distance, Lily dug deep into both her arms, and flung them at Kibutsuji, then snapping her fingers her blood began to burst into flames. Stopping just before the flames, Kibutsuji was thoroughly impressed at Lily's blood art. By just consuming a humans or demons' blood, she was able to change her blood art at will, but with the consequence of attaining their memories. And since demons live longer, they have more memories, in turn causes chaos within Lily's mind as to who she truly was.

.

_**Present time, just moment before Tanjiro's and Nezuko's battle finishes…**_

.

* * *

Still hanging from the wires, and remembering her own blood art, Kaguya awoke with a force and called out to Nezuko who was still closest to her. Extending her right arm out, this caused the wires to cut in deeper, but as she ignored the pain, Kaguya focused on Tanjiro's blood and clenched her fist. By doing so, Kaguya created a blazing fiery dragon that placed itself on Nezuko, in turn granting Nezuko a bit more stamina and strength to finish this battle.

As Tanjiro then successfully cut off Rui's head, the wire had begun to burn and snap, leading to Kaguya falling down towards the ground, landing with a thump. Grunting from the pain she felt when she came in contact with the ground, Kaguya tried to move only to feel her torn muscles cut in every way possible. Still doing everything she can, she managed to turn onto her stomach and stare at the Kamado siblings, who at this point were exhausted beyond belief. With Tanjiro forcibly switching breaths mid-way, it was understandable. And with Nezuko running here with all her might was also understandable. Now focusing more on healing, Kaguya's body began to burst into flames once more, and her wounds had begun to close more rapidly. But gaining the necessary strength to get up was another problem in itself.

.

"Ne-chan. Ta-chan." Kaguya spoke weakly as she tried several times to get up on her feet, only to fall each and every time but inched closer and closer to the siblings. "_Have to protect. Have to._" Kaguya though to herself, as she had finally managed to reach Tanjiro and laid herself on top of him. "Tan-chi." She forced herself to say, as she noticed how much pain Tanjiro was in.

.

Then feeling the emotions of hatred and disgust, Kaguya looked behind her, only to be sent flying. Crashing into the trees that were in her path, Kaguya continued to knock down several trees at a time, until after what seemed like hours of flying ended. Looking in front of her she noticed Rui walking towards her, ever so slowly.

.

"Why…why is it that when you look like you give up, you always have a trump card in that sleeve of yours?!" Rui looked with detest as he grabbed Kaguya by the neck and began to choke her. "This time, I'll make sure you suffer!"

.

Chocking and not being able to breath, Kaguya grabbed Rui's wrist with her tiny childish hands and with her remaining strength, tried to pry open his grip.

.

"Look at what you became! This form of yours is disgusting. I can't even look at you!" Rui yelled. "You had so much power, and yet you don't use it, unless there is a human in trouble! This is why your weak!" Gripping at her neck more, vein-like structures began to pop up more on Rui's arm.

"I protect…" Kaguya spoke through her gags at Rui with her best efforts. "Human's so…they can learn to protect each other." Looking with determination in her eyes, Kaguya yelled. "It's you who looks detestable! MAYA!"

.

Yelling a name Rui did not know, caused him to back up a bit, but still continued to choke Kaguya. In a matter of seconds, Rui found himself flying through the forest. After stopping himself from falling into any trees, Rui placed his feet into the ground and looked at the hair-like vine structures that flowed unconsciously. Looking at it with anger boiling behind his gaze, Rui once again screamed.

.

"You granted your powers to others, but not me?! Why?! What did I do to not deserve your power?" Rui exclaimed for an answer.

"She wanted you to live a normal, peaceful life." A voice spoke from behind Rui, a voice Rui believed he had forgotten during his time as a demon.

.

Turning around to see who was behind him, he froze to who he saw. A man sharing his appearance, but older. His hair was parted almost the exact same way and Rui's but was a bit grayer and uncombed. Backing up not wanting to believe what he was seeing, Rui overcoming with emotions cried out.

.

"No, you're dead. I saw you die." Rui spoke trying his best to believe that this was all a false illusion. "I know, this is Big Sis's new Blood Art. She's still trying to break me, is that it?" Rui pointed at Chosuke, who at this point revealed himself from the shadows of the trees.

"No, it's no illusion." Chosuke answered as he had successfully managed to place one of his hand on Rui's cheek.

.

Feeling a warmth, he had never felt in a long time, Rui was at odds with himself. Unable to make a decision, Rui had begun to extended his arms out to his father, who up until now, was believed to be dead.

.

"Rui, it's time to stop this. You've done more than enough damage here. It's time to rest." As Chosuke spoke, another voice spoke.

"You must hurry Chosuke. Two demon hunters are fast approaching." As Maya spoke, the hair began to wave almost as if it was sentient.

"I know, Maya." Chosuke answered embracing Rui tightly. "Come on Rui, you must end this. Now!"

"Your right. This does have to end." Kicking Chosuke back, Rui put a considerable distance between him and the two new demons. Placing his hand together, wires upon wires had begun to intertwine with each other and in a matter of moments, Rui pushed on the wires and sent them to Chosuke and everyone behind him. "_Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation_!"

.

Seeing the oncoming threads, Chosuke began to breath in, which caught the attention of Tanjiro and Nezuko.

.

"_Is he using a Breathing Technique?_" Tanjiro thought to himself as he noticed Chosuke's attitude change.

"_Breath of Balance 1__st__ Form: Gentle Breeze; Modified…_" Chosuke then placed his right index finger pointed out in front of him and just slightly tapped the wires, which in response all the wires untwined and scattered. "_Swallow Reversal._"

Seeing that happen in front of them was unlike anything they had ever seen. As Tanjiro and Nezuko looked in awe, they noticed Chosuke walking up while tears had begun to stream down his face.

.

"You're going to kill me again?!" Rui said with hatred in his voice. "I won't let you." As Rui lifted his hand once more to try and kill his father, he noticed his father no longer standing where he was. Then the sound of metal piercing the skin was followed after Chosuke showed himself yet again behind Rui.

"Forgive me…Rui." Chosuke said as his voice choked on his words and began to cry once more. "I promise you that I'll be joining you and your mother soon. But I have something important to do." After he pulled out what looked to be a needle from Rui's neck, Tanjiro smelled two distinct smells coming from it, Chosuke's scent, and Rui's.

"_Is that his blood art?_" Tanjiro thought to himself as he began to lose consciousness. "_I wonder what it did to Rui._"

Seeing Rui's fall down to the ground once more, Tanjiro and Nezuko both passed out due to exhaustion. But the last thing Tanjiro saw was Chosuke holding Rui's lifeless body as it began to disappear and burn. Trying her best to stay awake with mere will power, Nezuko crawled as the mark that had only appeared when she was emotional, had fully plastered itself on the right side of her body, in the form of a leaves on a vine. The vine formed around her right eye and curved just under her forehead and placed itself above the center of her eye, and ran down her face until it curved just under her eye making an S-shape then running down straight her neck, and wrapped itself around her right arm until it ended up in the center of her right palm. And in her hand was a blade that was giver to her by Tamayo.

.

"_I have to stay up. I also have to get Rui's blood; it could help Tamayo. And if I pass out now, who will protect Kaguya?_" As Nezuko thought this, she began to hear footsteps in the distance. Turning her attention to the sound, she noticed the mishmashed haori that the slayer wore. But his attention wasn't focused on the obvious demons that were just a bit ways away, no it was focused on… "Kaguya!" Moving her body with what little strength she had, Nezuko jumped in front of Giyuu and his oncoming blade.

.

Seeing this, Giyuu stopped his blade just before it came into contact with Nezuko's shoulder, following with a blast of wind that could've toppled a tree. Shaking beyond belief while trying to keep Giyuu from killing Kaguya, Nezuko stayed in placed hoping that her actions were enough to stop the man before her.

.

"_No doubt about it._" Giyuu thought to himself, as he began to inspect Nezuko from top to bottom, seeing nothing out of the ordinary with her other than the weird tattoo plastered on her face. "_She is definitely human. But if she is, what's with the mark on her face, and does she even remember someone like me?_" Without waiting for Nezuko to speak, Giyuu spoke up first. "Do you remember me?"

"Huh?" Caught off guard with his abrupt questioning, Nezuko's only response was that.

"I'm asking if you remember me from when you were a demon." Giyuu spoke again not liking the response he received.

"I…was a demon?" Nezuko repeated but was quick to deny it. "No, I was never a demon. If I was I would…of…" Now turning her attention to her brother, Nezuko realized why Tanjiro kept their family's death a secret. "Did I…kill my family?" On the verge of tears, Nezuko thought she had pieced it together, only for Giyuu to deny her answers.

"No, you didn't. Your brother said there was another scent at your house when he came home." Giyuu spoke to grab Nezuko's attention but continued without delay. "Last I saw you, you were indeed a demon. But I guess your brother made good on his promise to turn you back into human. If that's the case, then the cure must be in your blood."

"That's right, Lily was there with Big Brother…and…me." As fatigue had finally set in, Nezuko fell back, and without even trying to stop herself, fell on top of Kaguya. Who at this point had wasted every ounce of strength she had and fell asleep.

.

Seeing this, Giyuu placed his fingers in front of Nezuko's mouth to ensure that she was breathing. Several minutes later, Joichirou and Ozaki followed, with Shinobu right behind them. But as the young demon slayers tried to move in on the lone demon, Joichirou step between them and explained the situation entirely.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

* * *

"Hey, you two, wake up. How long are you going to sleep?" A voice spoke, now sounding irritated, the voice yelled. "I said wake up!"

.

The first to respond was Tanjiro as he looked around to see 6 people standing in front of him.

.

Shinobu Kocho, Butterfly Pillar: (_Too lazy to explain, since I already did in a previous chapter_)

Gyomei Himejima, Stone Pillar: His appearance is extremely muscular and stocky. He wears a large beaded necklace around his neck, and by Tanjiro's point of view, is holding prayer beads. He has black hair, and a scar running horizontally along his forehead.

Muichiro Tokito, Mist Pillar: A short young man of light complexion with long straight hair of black that fades to a turquoise and wears two clumps of hair on each side of his head.

Kyojuro Rengoku, Flame Pillar: A young adult with bright yellow hair with red streaks, black forked eyebrows, and golden eyes. He wears the standard uniform, like everyone else, but wears a white-yellow gradient patter haori with red flame-like ridges at the end.

Mitsuri Kanroji, Love Pillar: The most curvaceous woman you will ever see with fair skin and light green eyes. She also has long, pale pink hair that fades into a neon green color halfway. Her uniform is a modified version of the demon slayer uniform; the breast area left unbuttoned to accommodate her chest size and wears a short skirt in place of the hakama (_or pants, In case you didn't know_). She also wears a plain white haori.

Tengen Uzui, Sound Pillar: A tall muscular young man with white hair, though is seen wearing a headwrap with a headband covered with jewels of various sizes. He wears a sleeveless demon hunter uniform.

.

Seeing these people wasn't the strangest thing Tanjiro had seen in his time as a Demon Slayer, but it was still weird for him to see so much personality in one place. Then coming to the realization that he was no longer in the forest, Tanjiro looked around to see if he could spot Nezuko. Looking around frantically, he spotted her just a few feet away from him, resting peacefully. Sighing with relief, Tanjiro forced himself up to his knees and in that moment, Shinobu spoke.

.

"Tanjiro Kamado, you're in the Demon Slayer Headquarters. Once your sister, Nezuko Kamado wakes up, you both will be put on trial for not only traveling with a demon, but also for collaborating with several other demons in the past year."

"_Wait how did they know that? I was sure Nezuko and I weren't followed._" Tanjiro thought to himself, only for him to cut his train of thought and realized that… "Wait. Where's Kaguya?!" Now realizing that there was someone missing, Tanjiro began to look around frantically. But seeing as she was nowhere in sight, he began to panic more.

"Kamado, I suggest you calm yourself and explain-" Shinobu was cut off by a booming voice.

"There is no need for a trial!" Rengoku protested. "Protecting a demon and working alongside them is a clear violation of the code! We're within our right to deal with him on our own!"

"Then I'll deal with decapitating him." Uzui answered after Rengoku spoke. "I'll show you the most flamboyant blood spray you'll ever see." He spoke as he placed his left hand on the left side of his head. "And I'm talking max flamboyance."

.

As Tanjiro noticed all the pillars talking, he turned his attention toward Nezuko, who at this point was barely waking up, but still struggled to get up.

.

"Nezuko! Are you alright?" Tanjiro exclaimed in a rush, only to begin coughing.

"Big…brother…where…where are we?" Nezuko asked slowly as the bright rays from the sun shined in her eyes.

"Oh, your awake Miss Kamado, now we'll be able to put you both on trial." Shinobu spoke once more.

.

But Tanjiro never listened as he began to look around more and more for his friends, and his new family member, Kaguya. But just as he was about to get up, another voice spoke. Trying to find where the voice originated, Tanjiro looked around and saw someone laying on a branch, high in the tree. The one thing that caught Tanjiro's eyes were his eyes colors: with his right eye being yellow and his left being a turquoise.

.

Obanai Iguro, Serpent Pillar: He's a young man with a short stature. He had a light complexion with black hair that is choppy and layered with two strands of hair in between his eyes. He wears bandages wrapped around his mouth and always had a snake wrapped around his neck. Same as the other slayers, Obanai wears the standard demon slayer uniform, and wears a black and white striped haori. But for his shoes he wears a blue strapped zori.

.

"It's starting to become an eyesore, not seeing Giyuu in restraints." Obanai pointed at Giyuu who was standing a bit ways away from the rest of the group.

.

Now fully awake, Nezuko took in the scene that had begun to unfold in front of her. Not aware of the situation, she turned to her brother only to see something that made her blood boil.

.

"Now this is interesting." Yet another voice spoke, this time grabbing everyone's attention.

.

As they all turned to face the owner of the voice, Tanjiro noticed a man covered in scars on his chest, hand and face. He had white, spiky hair. But what he held in his hand is what caught Tanjiro's attention.

.

"Shinazugawa, I ask that you refrain from acting on your own." Shinobu replied, with a hint of anger in her voice.

.

A few moments later, a Kakushi woman ran in from the side of the house and pleaded to Sanemi Shinazugawa to place down the box.

.

Sanemi Shinazugawa, Wind Pillar: A tall, muscular… (_I just noticed that all the males are all significantly tall, except for the women._) …and slender man with spiky white hair and large eyes

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"Please I beg of you. Master Nakamura left that in the shadows for a reason…" But she was cut off by Sanemi's outburst.

"You think I give a damn about what that old fart says! We are demon hunter. Our mission is to kill all demons." As Sanemi pulled out his blade, he pointed it to the box. "And that is what I'm going to do."

.

With a smile spreading across his face, he began to force his blade into the box, and stabbed the demon within. Hearing a muffled scream, Tanjiro snapped and rose to his feet.

.

Anyone who hurts my family, Demon Slayer or not, I won't ever forgive you!"

.

Laughing at the sight, Shinazugawa slid the blade in more and in one swift motion, pulled it out of the box. Now completely angry, Tanjiro screamed and rushed forward.

.

"Stop it! The Master will be arriving soon." Giyuu spoke up, causing Sanemi to hesitate.

.

Then as Tanjiro jumped out of the way of Sanemi's deadly blade, Sanemi was distracted by Tanjiro's moment, that he completely ignored the girl who tripped him. As he finally realized what had happened, Sanemi looked down to see Nezuko twirling with on her back causing Sanemi to trip toward the ground. Even more so, since Tanjiro completely headbutted the heck out of him. As all three collapsed towards the ground, Mitsuri choked a laugh which grabbed everyone's attention.

.

"I'm sorry." She answered in embarrassment.

.

As Nezuko pushed herself towards the box, she grabbed one of the straps and began to wrap her hands as tightly as she could. Then looking back, Nezuko spoke.

.

"Kaguya, are you alright?!" She asked in a panic, only to receive a grunt of pain coming from the box.

"You bastards…Now you've gone and pissed me off." But everyone, in that exact moment, felt a presence so heavy it caused the air around them feel like they were sinking into the ground.

"So… my words mean nothing to you, Shinazugawa. Then I guess that means, I can pound my ideals into you until you break." Joichirou's calm, yet stern voice spoke. Then turning his attention behind him, Sanemi saw Joichirou with an angrier look, something he had never seen before.

"I don't get you. At first when I joined, you showed no interest in interfering with what I did, now all of a sudden it's like you came back as a different person." Sanemi answered with malice and hatred, but with a hint of fear, but only noticed Joichirou walking over to Nezuko.

"Hand me the box, miss. I can assure you that it will be safe in my presence." Joichirou said in a calm soothing voice.

.

Hesitant as to whether or not she should hand the box over, Nezuko just stared with suspicion at Joichirou. Seeing this, he knelt down and looked at Nezuko directly in her eyes with a sweet smile, showing no sign of deceit. Seeing this, Nezuko calmed down and began to unwrap her hand from the strap. Grabbing the box, Joichirou placed the straps on his shoulders and turned over to Sanemi.

.

"Shinazugawa, I may be old, but that doesn't mean you should ignore my orders." It only took second for Sanemi to be put down towards the ground and for Joichirou to remove and take Sanemi's sword into the estate.

.

Seeing the old man move was astounding to both Nezuko and Tanjiro. They had never seen speed such as that, and they thought that Urokodaki was fast. But this man topped their teacher's speed by 10, but at a cost. After landing within the shadows of the estate before the Pillars, Joichirou had begun to cough uncontrollably; And it lasted for a full minute.

.

"Sensei, are you alright?!" Kanroji said as she approached the estate in a rush.

"I'm alright, Kanroji, don't concern yourself with me." Joichirou responded to the kind girl as he looked at her and wiped his mouth.

"You're bleeding." Mitsuri spoke up once more, catching everyone's attention.

"Is that true, Sensei?" Shinobu asked.

"As I stated before, do not concern yourself with my health. That is my problem to undertake. And besides, the Master is here."

.

Turning their attention towards the opened doors, entered a man whose calm demeanor caused everyone to bow to their knees, all except Joichirou, who had begun to stand just behind the Master of the Demon Slayer Corp.

As the Master began to walk forward closer to the edge of the estate, with the guidance of two girls at each of his sides, his features were shown. He had light skin and black shoulder length hair. And while his overall appearance didn't interest the Kamado siblings, the marks on his face did. Seeing this, Tanjiro couldn't help but think what the marks were all about.

.

"Good morning, everyone." Kagaya Ubuyashiki spoke in a calm, soothing tone after looking up to the sky for a bit. "I am glad to see that we have all made it to are semi-annual Pillar Meeting, with no personnel change." After saying those few words to the Pillars in front of him, Kagaya turned his attention towards Joichirou, who was just within the shadows of the estate. "Joichirou…yet marks another year of your time as a Demon Slayer. I am glad to see that you are still in good health, despite the complication you had."

"I thank you for your kind word, my dear friend." Joichirou answered Kagaya. "And if I may, I wish to state something before we begin our Pillar Meeting."

"And what may that be?" Kagaya asked.

.

Giving a few seconds of silence, trying to gather his words, Joichirou began to breath in then out to try and calm his now raging heart. Then after recollecting his thoughts, Joichirou spoke.

.

"I've, once again met the group of demons that had saved my life."


	15. Chapter 15

_**On the backs of the Kakushi…**_

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* * *

Tanjiro and Nezuko were headed towards the Butterfly estate, under the orders of both Joichirou and Shinobu, after the entire fiasco had ended. Nezuko had passed out somewhere along the route, and had begun to rest, while Tanjiro thought about what happened during the meeting.

.

_**Just before the Kamado siblings left…**_

.

* * *

Standing within the shadows, with hatred within her eyes, Kaguya looked at the blood that had begun to drip from Sanemi's arm. He wanted to prove Joichiorou's words were wrong. That it was impossible for humans and demons to work together. After standing still for a full minute, Kaguya had begun to move. Smiling at the sight, Sanemi believed he had won, only to see his world become dark. As his body fell to the ground, Kaguya turned around and, bent down, her actions caused the other Pillars to place their hands on their weapons, only to see that it was only a false alarm as Kaguya ripped her haori once more and wrapped Sanemi's arm. As Sanemi remained unconscious, Kaguya sat down beside him and began to stroke his head.

.

"Sad." Was all Kaguya said.

"And there you have it." Joichirou spoke. "There exist demons who don't eat or attack humans, but instead care for their well-being over their own."

"I see." Kagaya spoke, then turning around to face the rest of the Pillars, he spoke once more. "There is your proof. But at the moment, we will allow Joichirou to find one of these demons and work alongside them. If the partnership works then we will all work alongside this mysterious group."

"That will not be a problem, for I have already set my sights on demon." Joichirou spoke as he rose to his feet and walked over to Kagaya and whispered into his ear.

"I see." Kagaya whispered back. "Then I shall await their arrival."

.

_**Present time…**_

.

* * *

"That Joichirou man, he's weird." Tanjiro spoke after coming back to reality.

"Oh, you mean Master Joichirou." The male Kakushi spoke.

"Master?" Tanjiro repeated. "I remember every Pillar calling him 'Sensei.' Why?"

"Oh, that's because he has watched over the Ubuyashiki since he became a demon slayer and has treated us Kakushi with more respect than he has treated anyone else."

"I know. It sort of makes us feel like we're the masters." The female Kakushi spoke up in the conversation.

"How long has Mr. Joichirou been a demon slayer?" Tanjiro asked, now curious about Joichirou.

"Hmm…about 30 years, give or take." The male Kakushi answered, not confident in his answer. "All I know is that he has seen at least three master's take the role as head of the Demon Slayer Corp."

"And is the longest lasting Pillar in the group." The female Kakushi added.

"Oh, that's right." The male Kakushi responded.

"Ohh, is that so?" Tanjiro said as he looked up towards the sky.

.

_**In a bamboo forest just a few miles away from the Demon Slayer Headquarters…**_

.

* * *

Sitting in the middle of a clearing sword in hand, Joichirou appeared to be meditating, before suddenly opening his eyes and in a single breath, sliced the surrounding bamboos and then sheathed his sword. Looking back, the cut bamboos fell to the ground, but the look of disappointment was plastered on Joichirou's face for the world to see.

.

"_I've gotten weaker._" Joichirou said to himself, before breathing outwards. "Well, it's to be expected. But from this point forth I have to be careful."

.

Placing the sword back on his waist, Joichirou set for a small cabin. Knocking on the small door first before opening it, gave the occupant inside time to hide in the shadows. Then after waiting for a minute, Joichirou entered and shut the door behind him. Seeing Mother Spider covering herself in a heavy blanket breathing heavily, caused Joichirou to grit his teeth in pain. It had been quite some time since she had eaten human flesh, so the withdrawal from it was causing Mother Spider to build up what looked to be a fever.

.

"How are you holding up?" Joichirou asked.

"Not…good…but I have to hold on." Mother Spider spoke through her heavy breathing. "Is…is this my punishment?"

"It's only part of it. Once you feel better, I'm taking you out into the field to work alongside me to slay demons." Joichirou answered as he light a waxed candle string, which lit the dark, heavy shadowed room. "I'm far too old to fight by myself, so this is a perfect opportunity to grab some assistance."

"But all I can do is control people with my strings." Mother Spider spoke, as she fully turned her face towards Joichirou to show that she was sweating up a storm. "And not to mention that it won't work without a forest."

.

Feeling a smack to her head, Mother Spider held her forehead in pain as she looked to see Joichirou's hand extended outwards.

.

"Quit telling yourself that your weak, and useless. Even the most useless people have the best potential when given the right opportunity." Joichirou answered.

"Even the most useless have the best potential. What do you mean?" Mother Spider asked. "Rui said that the weakest shouldn't survive, only the strong can thrive."

"Look at me. I'm the weakest of the Demon Slayers, but as you can see, because of that I was able to defeat some strong demons." Joichirou answered. "The stronger the opponent, the stronger the wall to protection becomes. But the weaker the opponent, the weaker their walls become." Listening to his words intently, Mother Spider became aware of her faults and began thinking of ways to improve herself.

.

After their conversation ended, Joichirou left the small cabin, leaving Mother Spider all by herself to her own thoughts.

.

"How…how can I improve myself?" She thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

.

_**A few hours later…**_

.

* * *

Sitting in the moon's warms rays, Kagaya sat down without a care in the world when he heard several footsteps he did not recognize. Smiling at it, he slightly turned his head and spoke.

.

"I was told to wait for your arrival. But I am honestly surprised at the fact that you two could walk through wisteria without flinching." Kagaya spoke.

"If you were expecting us, then that means that man we met at Mount Natagumo was trustworthy after all." Suzuha spoke.

"If it's alright with the both of you, might I know your names." Kagaya asked with a tender sweet voice.

"It's proper etiquette to name oneself before asking for the names of others, isn't it?" Suzuha spoke up once more.

"Ah, forgive me. My name is Kagaya Ubuyashiki. The current master of the Demon Slayer Corp." Kagaya gave his introduction and began to wait for the two girls to introduce themselves.

"Suzuha, demon. And a member of the Stars." Suzuha introduced herself.

"Koharu, same." Koharu answered a bit cautious about the new man in front of her.

"Suzuha and Koharu. Very well, if you don't mind my asking, may I know your purpose for being here?" Kagaya asked.

"I'm here to return something." Koharu answered Kagaya's question.

"Koharu, correct?" Getting a respond of agreement, Kagaya continued. "What is it you wish to return?"

"A butterfly hairpin that belongs to one of your Demon Slayers." Koharu pulled out the hairpin and presented it to Kagaya. "I was with one of your slayers when I awoke some 7 years ago. But sadly, I had grabbed onto this when was I sent flying away by another demon."

"I take it that the hairpin belonged to Kanae?" Kagaya asked once more.

"I was not aware of her name at the time, but when I noticed the slayer's family member back at the mountain, I knew I had to return it no matter what." Koharu answered.

"Very well, I'll be sure to find a proper way for you both to meet, until then will you stay with my family. I'm sure they will accept you." Kagaya replied to Koharu's demands. "And now for you Suzuha. What is your purpose for being here?"

"I'm simply looking for my mother. It has been quite some time since she had eaten human flesh. So, she could be going through the withdrawal state, and could be suffering as well." Suzuha spoke as she was asked. "I simply wish to give her Lily's blood as a means to sate her desire for blood."

"Wouldn't that do the opposite and cause her to grow more agitated?" Kagaya questioned Suzuha's actions.

"No, Lily's blood is the opposite of Kibutsuji's. It actually destroys his cells and creates pseudo demons such as us." Surprised at the fact of hearing a demon saying Kibutsuji's name come from a demon, Kagaya couldn't hide his astonishment fast enough before Suzuha spoke up. "Don't worry we get that a lot. I'm not quite sure of the details myself, but from what I'm seeing from Lily's memories she was made to be the cure for Kibutsuji, or something of the sort."

"Is that so? Now, I'm curious about meeting this Lily you speak of. Do you think that could be possible?" Kagaya curious at this new demon, asked.

"Keep asking, and she'll appear before you." Suzuha answered.

"Then I'll continue to do so." Kagaya answered with a giggle.

.

As the three continued their conversation, the two demon sisters tried their best to answer all the questions Kagaya asked, and Kagaya in turn answered the questions the two sisters had. Eventually before the three realized it, the night had begun to end.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

* * *

Sneaking around in the shadows of the estate, Kaguya was trying her best to remain within the shadows given to her but was eventually stuck at the large hallway with glass panes that showed the garden outside. Trying to figure out the best plan, Kaguya train of thought was interrupted when a voice spoke up.

.

"What are you doing?" The voice asked, but Kaguya's grip on the ceiling slipped and felt towards the ground. "Are you alright?"

.

As Kaguya looked up she noticed Ozaki, extended her only good hand out to help her up. Grabbing it, she was helped to her feet.

.

"You look to be alright." Ozaki spoke. "Are you trying to get to Tanjiro and the rest?"

"Mm." Kaguya answered.

"Wait, can you not talk?" Ozaki confused at the response she was given, since she clearly heard Kaguya speak the night before.

.

Rubbing both her fingers on each side of her head while making a face in pain, was enough for Ozaki to understand the situation. Then asking for Kaguya to wait within the shadows of the hallway, Ozaki walked through the hallway and entered the room where Tanjiro and the rest of the boys were and came back with a heavy blanket. Then crouching down, she turned her head around and spoke.

"Get on, I'll carry you inside, since there's light shining in there, too." Doing as she was told, Kaguya grabbed onto Ozaki's shoulders and climbed onto her back. The heavy blanket was then tossed on to cover Kaguya. Then they proceeded to the patient's rooms.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

* * *

While she stood in the center of the garden, Kaguya looked up towards the moon. Then as a thought came into her mind, she extended her right hand to try and grab it, but to no avail. Hearing footsteps approach her, Kaguya turned around to see Shinobu standing there.

.

"I take it your Kaguya?" Shinobu asked, and Kaguya nodded in response. "So, I take it you don't talk much?" Seeing the young demon trying her best to speak, Shinobu lifted up her hand to stop her. "If you can't put your thoughts into words, then it's fine."

"Can…talk." Kaguya said ever so slowly, before turning her attention back to the full moon. "Difficult…so many…thoughts? Memories?" Kaguya began to think about her words, trying her best to find the right one.

"Memories?" Shinobu repeated, now curious as to what this girl meant.

"Memories…so, many. Sad. Happy, angry, fear, disgust." Continuously stating one emotion at a time, Kaguya eyes began to drift farther and farther down, until they met the ground below her. "So many people, and so many memories. It's hard to take in."

.

Waiting for her to continue, Shinobu just stared at the young demon girl, who looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Then lifting up her hand, Kaguya slapped each cheek until they became completely red. Stunned by her sudden behavior, Shinobu was about to ask, only to see Kaguya walk up to a tree and hit it, causing its occupant to fall to the ground.

.

"She wishes to return something that belongs to you." As Kaguya spoke, Shinobu noticed her growing a bit older, and her appearance changed to that of a 13 year old. "Don't screw up." And with that, Kaguya walked away leaving both Koharu and Shinobu alone.

.

_**10 minutes later…**_

.

* * *

After she left both Koharu and Shinobu, Kaguya looked up once more at the bright moon, and took a deep breath in, but in that same moment, she felt a pain in her chest. The pain hurt so much that it caused her to fall to the ground. Then the image of a woman who shared a similar appearance to her, had disappeared from Kaguya's mind. Holding onto her head, Kaguya began to breath more heavily, then spoke to herself.

.

"She's dead. She's dead. If she's dead…" Kaguya looked up towards the moon with fear in her eyes. "…what will happen to me?"

.

_**Meanwhile, after the "meeting" in the Infinite Fortress…**_

.

* * *

A female version of Kibutsuji was seen standing outside of a plain Japanese style house looking into the distance. After transforming back into his original form, he felt a pain in his heart, and had begun to laugh. Knowing what that pain meant, caused him to become hysterical.

.

"After a thousand years, you let time get to you, Lily." Kibutsuji spoke while laughing uncontrollably. "You…your curse has finally subsided. There is but only one thing that holds me back from finding the flower. That curse, which you placed on me, is now useless. Because you're dead." Feeling overjoyed at the fact that Lily's life had ended, caused Kibutsuji to feel like he was on the top of the world. "And now, I'm coming for that little girl you made, and I'm going to kill her before she can do anything."

.

As Kibutsuji looked up towards the moon, he smiled. He smiled, knowing that his plan to beat the sun was now closer than ever, with the Lily's death being the turning point.


	16. Chapter 16

_**An hour before…**_

.

* * *

Looking off into the distance from a high cliff, a gray haired Lily smiled sweetly. Hearing footsteps coming behind her, she looked to see the newest member of her Stars. Smiling she spoke.

.

"Do I look pathetic to you, Minoru?" Lily asked, waiting for a response.

"No, you don't. In fact, it surprised me to see you aging like a human." Minoru spoke as he began to approach Lily. Seeing a star emblem on the top left side of his forehead made Lily smile. "Is something the matter?"

"No, nothing. It's just…" As she paused, Lily looked up once more towards the stars. "It's almost time."

"Your death?" Minoru asked.

"So, you've known. Well that is to be expected." Getting up to her feet, she turned to Minoru and spoke with no fear in her voice. "Tell Chosuke that from this point forward, all the Stars efforts should be focused on Kaguya. She is the only one who will be able to slow down Kibutsuji."

"Is that all?" Minoru asked once more hoping to see if there was anything else to her words. "That's all. Besides, Kaguya already spilled her blood on Nezuko, so the memories I suppressed in Nezuko's mind should resurface at any point after my death."

"So, this Nezuko girl, I'm supposed to support her?" Minoru had begun to question Lily's words.

"No, there is no need." Lily responded to Minoru's curiosity. "I'm leaving that to her. She'll know what to do." Then once again looking off into the distance, Lily smiled once more. "The horizon is beautiful, isn't it?"

.

Looking towards the horizon that Lily was looking at, Minoru looked and responded as a tear began to fall down his cheek.

.

"Yeah, it is." As he then looked back, he noticed that Lily was no longer standing where she was supposed to be, but instead cherry blossom petals, which began to fly in the wind from where she stood. "Goodbye, Lily."

.

As Minoru looked into the distance, he set his sights to a train that had just passed the clifftop he had been standing on. Without a second to waste, he jumped from the cliff and onto the passing train.

.

_**Back at the Butterfly Estate…**_

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* * *

After hearing about Kaguya's collapse, Tanjiro and Nezuko both went to see her in the room provided by the estate just for the young demon. But when they saw her, they noticed her a bit older than the last time they saw her and noticed that she was in some sort of deep slumber.

.

"How long as she been like this?" Tanjiro asked Shinobu, who was just outside Kaguya's room.

"For several hours." Shinobu answered honestly. "I was making amends last night with someone I once knew in the past, and when I finished I noticed her collapsed on the ground, looking like she was in a lot of pain. Is it common of her to collapse like this?"

"No, it's not." Tanjiro replied with a worried tone. "It's not like her to just collapse without a reason. Unless…"

"Unless…what?" Shinobu looked at Tanjiro with confusion as to why he cut himself off.

"She could be trying to restore some of her lost energy that she used in battle." Tanjiro finished his sentence as he looked toward Shinobu.

"Oh, is that so? Then we have nothing to worry about." Shinobu answered with a smile. Seeing that smile caused Tanjiro to smell a different scent coming off of Shinobu, something that was different then when he began to train to do Full Focus Breathing. Seeing this, Shinobu spoke up. "Is something wrong, Kamado?"

"Oh, it's just…you don't seem as angry as you were before." Tanjiro answered honestly.

"I don't?" Shinobu answered sheepishly, not really understanding her own actions.

"No, you don't. Before you always smelled like you were angry about something, but know, it seems like that anger is gone." Tanjiro spoke honestly.

"Kamado, come with me." Shinobu ordered, then Tanjiro followed.

.

_**Outside in the Butterfly Estate's Garden…**_

.

* * *

Shinobu began to walk into the main garden of the estate, with Tanjiro following just behind her. As they made it out into the garden, Shinobu turned around and faced Tanjiro.

.

"Allow to explain, my sister's wish." Was all Shinobu said to grab Tanjiro's attention.

.

_**Roughly Seven Years Prior…**_

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* * *

"_It was about 7 years ago, myself and my elder sister, Kanae, were both sent out on a mission in Sensei's stead. As we arrived, it was already nightfall._"

.

As both the Kocho sisters kept their surroundings checked, they had their hands on their swords just in case they were attacked. Kanae sensing something in the distance looked into the shadows and noticed a figure moving. Not wanting to alarm her sister, she turned away from it.

.

"Are you sure there is a demon here?" A young Shinobu spoke, while looking with disappointment. "You sure that old man hasn't gotten a few screws loose."

"Now, now." Kanae answered with a bright and cheerful smile. "Sensei wouldn't send us out unless it was extremely important. And since he did, it must be important." Once again seeing something move in the shadows, Kanae focused all her attention in the shadows, but could barely make up a figure. Then after a few moments, she spoke. "Hey, Shinobu. I think we should split up. You know, cover more ground." Kanae suggested.

.

"_I wish I had said no then. But since I knew how strong my sister was, I agreed._"

.

As Shinobu left Kanae's sight, Kanae waited a few more moment, before speaking up.

.

"It's alright, you can come out now. I know you mean no harm." Kanae spoke softly and smoothly.

.

Out of the shadows, emerged a still milky-skinned Koharu looking like she just ran away from the devil. Seeing her figure, caused Kanae's chest to tighten with sorrow. Then pulling out a rice ball, she offered it to Koharu.

.

"Here, your probably hungry. Oh, wait you guys don't eat human food." But before she could take it back, Koharu spoke up.

"No, I'll take it." Koharu answered sheepishly, as she began to stretch out her hand. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure." Kanae responded to Koharu's thanks.

.

After eating the rice ball, Koharu looked far too satisfied, which caused Kanae to look with confusion. Seeing her face, Koharu spoke up.

.

"Is something the matter?" Koharu question as she turned her head to face Kanae.

"I've never seen a demon eat human food before. So, I was caught off guard a bit. Sorry if I made you worry."

"It's fine. Honestly, I just woke up after a long slumber, so I was pretty hungry. But for some odd reason, my appetite for human flesh has decreased significantly." Koharu replied with a small smile.

"You were asleep?" Kanae looked at the young demon girl with astonishment. "Wait, if I could bring her back, then maybe, just maybe…"

.

But in that moment, Koharu, rushed in front of Kanae, and both girls had begun to tumble away. Hearing the sound of ice scratching against rock, Kanae looked to see icicles pierced through Koharu's back.

.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kanae then realized she didn't know her name.

"Koharu. That's my name. I'll ask for yours later, but for now I have to deal with him." As Koharu looked back she noticed a man with a moderately toned and muscular body, who was of a notably pale complexion. He also wore a blood-red turtleneck of a design that made it appear that the section between his neck and upper chest was covered by a black substance that looks like it's dripping slightly down his body, this same design repeated at his wrists and down his hands, as well as on the small, circular "blood stain" he adorned on his head. Below this, he wore a pair of straight, tan-colored pants of a pinstriped design, their cuffs visibly loose, which he secured with a pale green-tinged golden belt, its buckle a bright silver. Seeing this, Koharu rose to her feet, at the same time pulled out the icicle spears, and spoke. "That was pretty rude, you know. Who goes off and attacks an unarmed girl?"

"But you're not just any girl, you're Lily, right?" the young man spoke

"If your relying on smell to catch your enemy, then you're a much bigger idiot than I thought."

"What did you say?" the young man answered.

"Stay back. I may only be strong enough to hold him back just a bit." Without taking her eyes off of her enemy, Koharu whispered to Kanae.

.

Then he disappeared, then reappeared in front of Koharu. This caused Koharu to step back a bit, but it was just enough to get her to dodge his oncoming attack. Sliding her hand on his abdomen, Koharu slid past her enemy, and pulled on something that caused her enemy to fall back. Then jumping up, into the sky, she extended her hands out and spewed out a ton of webs, which in turn trapped her enemy towards the ground.

.

"We got to go!" Koharu yelled in a panic as she grabbed Kanae's hand and began to run off.

"Why are we running? That's a demon, isn't it?" Kanae asked.

"That just not any demon. That's an Upper Moon. I know cause, I saw the insignia etched into his eyes." Koharu answered back while still focused on running. "I'm still weak, so if I delayed my fight with him, I would've died.

"Then allow to end your suffering." A voice spoke from behind Koharu, who instinctively, tossed Kanae into a building.

.

As Kanae emerged from the small hut, she noticed Koharu's head missing from her body, and the demon who she was fighting just before with his hand on her body. Not even wasting a second, Kanae rushed forth and swung.

.

"_Breath of the Flower, Fourth Form: Safflower Robe!_" Then in a matter of moments, a strike came into view, but even though Kanae's attack was dodged, it gave Koharu the opportunity she needed.

.

Twisting her body onto the Upper Moon's arm, then locking her legs onto his neck, she twisted herself and caused the demon to fall to the ground, face first. As Koharu got up to her knees, she began to pant very heavily. But still getting up to her feet, she looked over to Kanae.

.

"You must go. You have someone waiting for…for you, right?" Koharu continued to speak, only for Kanae to see her enemy move closer to her with a fan in hand.

.

Making a quick decision, Kanae moved in front of Koharu and took her enemy's attack. Seeing this caused Koharu to snap and using all the strength she had left and punched the heck out of the Upper Moon. But it didn't do much, since Koharu was the one who was sent flying back. But in the midst of her flight, Koharu tried to grab hold of something, only to feel something in her hand. As she landed, she looked at her hand and noticed a butterfly hairpin. Scared as to what had happened to Kanae, Koharu rushed forward, only for her eyes to be blinded by the sun's morning rays. Quickly hiding within the shadows that the trees provided, her sight came back. As she tried to look back, she noticed Shinobu there with Kanae holding onto her pleading for her to hold on. Feeling immense guilt, Koharu ran, only to grab the attention of Shinobu.

.

"Demon!" She yelled. "Get out here and fight me! You're not going to get away with what you did!" Angrily, she tried to chase after Koharu, only to be stopped by Kanae.

"Don't be angry with her. She…" Kanae coughed up a huge amount of blood. "Don't be angry with Ko-ha-r…" without being able to finish her sentence, Kanae had died due to immense blood loss.

"Kanae. Kanae!" Shinobu continued to repeat her sister's name, only to receive silence in return.

.

_**Present Time…**_

.

* * *

"I had always believed that Koharu was the one who killed my sister, but after she returned with my sister's hairpin, and explained her side of the story, I never felt so much relief than yesterday." Shinobu finished speaking, then looked at Tanjiro. "I know I asked for you to continue on my sister's legacy, but if I can be selfish for once and ask to take back that promise?"

"Sure. Hearing you, I know it must've been difficult to keep on smiling, but now…" Tanjiro smiled brightly at Shinobu. "Now, you can continue your sister's legacy. And I'll wait for the day when you ask me to continue it for you."

"Thank you, Tanjiro." Shinobu whispered as she turned her back to the young boy.

"Did you say something?" Tanjiro asked.

"Nope. I didn't." Shinobu answered with a more genuine smile. Then coming to the realization of something she spoke again. "Oh, by the way, Sensei asked for you and your sister to go to him."

"Huh?" Was all Tanjiro responded back.


	17. Chapter 17

Breathing outwards, to calm his heavy breathing, Joichirou turned around to see an exhausted Tanjiro and Nezuko. Smiling at the sight he sat down and waited for the two Kamado's to get up to their feet.

.

"Why…why are we training again?" Tanjiro asked as he looked up from the ground to Joichirou.

"I heard something interesting during your battle with Lower Moon Five." Was all Joichirou needed to say in order to grab the children's attention. Seeing this, he continued. "You, Tanjiro my boy, changed your breathing mid-way during battle. And you Nezuko, you created a new form. Not many can do what you did, especially me."

"But I've heard from Miss Kocho that you created new Breathing Techniques for the other Pillars." Nezuko followed with, which surprised Joichirou for a bit, but later composed himself.

"While that is true, it is also false." Joichirou stated. "I merely taught them a different way to breath, which I believed would be beneficial for them. But I wasn't the one who created it, but merely lead them to create it."

"So, you don't create new Breaths?" Tanjiro asked as he sat down.

"No, I'm not the First Breath User, Tanjiro." Joichirou answered.

"First?" Both Tanjiro and Nezuko asked simultaneously.

"You don't know of the First Breath User? Then what about the hanafuda earrings your currently wearing, Tanjiro?" Joichirou pointed toward the earring hanging from Tanjiro's ears.

"Is there something special about them?" Tanjiro asked with his airhead expression.

"Oh. I see, so you don't know anything about it, huh." Thinking for a second, Joichirou tried to come up with a sentence, then after a minute he came to a conclusion. "Tanjiro did your family have a dance or some type of technique you would always do as a tradition?"

"Oh, yes we do. It's known as the Hinokami Kagura Dance. Why do ask?" Tanjiro questioned, now curious as to where this conversation was going.

"Only curious, that is all." As Joichirou stood up, the sound of leaves rustling under the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from behind them. "Oh, that must be Kanroji."

"How do you know?" Nezuko spoke up after rising to her feet.

"She usually comes to me around this time." And sure enough, Kanroji made her appearance to the trio that stood in the center of the bamboo forest they were in. "What can I help you, Kanroji?" Joichirou spoke up with a soft smile.

"I just wanted to see you that's all." Kanroji answered with a bright smile.

"Is that so?" Joichirou replied, still keeping the soft smile plastered on his face. "But as a Pillar, you must set an example for the other Slayers. I suggest you continue to practice your breathing techniques, otherwise you'll never be able to surpass me."

"No, I will. I promised you that, remember?" Kanroji answered as she closed the distance between herself and Joichirou.

"Then, I'll be expecting that day to come." Was all Joichirou answered after seeing Kanroji leave. "That girl…she doesn't change, does she?" The looking up, Joichirou spoke up again. "Can I ask you watch over her a little longer, Iguro?" Catching their attention, both Kamado's looked up to see the Snake Pillar watching the scene from above the bamboos.

"You don't have to tell me that, old man." Iguro replied before swinging off to follow Kanroji.

"He won't get anywhere unless he makes a move." After whispering those words to himself, he turned his attention back to the siblings. "Let's continue tomorrow, shall we?"

"Okay." Was all Tanjiro replied before being sent off by Joichirou.

.

After seeing the two off, Joichirou began to walk by himself and his thoughts. But what he remembered during his walk, was the day he brought Mitsuri Kanroji into the Demon Slayer Corp.

.

_**5 years ago, …**_

.

* * *

Walking through a lively town, far livelier than his own, Joichirou was sent by Kagaya to see about a young woman with immense strength. However, …

.

"How am I, an old my supposed to win the trust of a young child such as the one you described?" Joichirou spoke to himself, contemplating whether or not he should go through with his mission. "Honestly, when it comes to slaying demons it's a piece of cake, but when it comes to convincing others, well I fail in that part."

.

But just as he was about give up, he heard something that caught his attention. Hearing two young men speak to each other, one of them began to describe the exact girl he was searching for. Out of desperation, Joichirou spoke up.

.

"Excuse me, young sir?" Joichirou caught their attention. "This woman you speak of, do you know where I can find her?"

"Oh, just at that house in the far distance." The young man answered. "You want to take this path all the way down, then make a right."

"Thank you for your generosity." Joichirou thanked the man and was about to leave when the young man spoke up once more.

"If your planning of marrying her, I suggest you don't." Looking back, he noticed the young man's expression change. "She's not your everyday girl. She's far to strong and has this crazy colored hair. And to top it all off, she eats far too much. I'm surprised she can keep her figure."

.

After chatting with them, for who knows how long, Joichirou set off to see this young girl named Mitsuri Kanroji.

.

_**At the Kanroji estate…**_

.

* * *

Walking through the estate, Joichirou noticed how bigger it was than his, but knowing that sightseeing was not his purpose at the time, he began to search around for Mitsuri. After chatting with the parents, and lying of course about having a sick son, who looks to be at Death's door, and how other suitors for him were denied, caused the parents to relate and show him to their daughter.

Upon seeing her, Joichirou noticed a couple thing right away. First being that Mitsuri's hair color was dyed black. Second, she had a sadden expression shown on her face. And third, her stomach began to growl. Seeing this, Joichirou asked a few moments with her alone, to which the parents gave. Then walking up to her, he handed her a rice ball and sat next to her.

.

"I finally found you, Mitsuri Kanroji." Joichirou spoke.

"I'm guessing you came because of the rumors. Have you come to laugh, too?" Mitsuri questioned, sounding defeated as she ate the rice ball she was given as lady-like as she possibly can.

"It's a woman's dream to get married to a nice man, who will always do their best to support them. Despite the hardships they have." Joichirou answered. "But unlike most men, I have not come here to ask for any marriage, in fact I have something else I wish to ask." Now catching her attention, she looked at the man, who looked like he had come back from battle, and was about to die any day. "Mitsuri Kanroji, will you like to come with me? For if you do, you will not have to restrain yourself to be this perfect woman everyone wants you to be, but in fact be the woman you were always meant to be?"

"What do you mean? Is there even a place for me like that?" Mitsuri asked.

"There is. It's a secret organization that is not recognized by the government, known as the Demon Slayer Corp. It's where exceptional beings, such as yourself go around and slay creatures known as demons who threaten the safety of humanity." Joichirou spoke, knowing that if he failed to convince her, the Demon Slayer Corp would be exposed to society.

"Demon Slayer Corp…demons." Then looking at the old man, Mitsuri gave of look of disbelief. "And how should I believe you?" She asked.

"See that boulder." Joichirou pointed at the boulder, which was half his high, but weighed far heavier than a full grown adult. "If I can move that it without carrying it or breaking it, will you believe me?"

.

Shocked by his words, Mitsuri nodded ever so slowly. Then after seeing her response, Joichirou rose to his feet, and motioned Mitsuri to follow. Then standing in front of the boulder, Joichirou placed his palm on in and began to breath in deeply. After opening his eyes, he back up and placed himself in a stance that looked like he was about to pull out a blade from thin air, then as if on command, he began to once more breath in more deeply than he had done before.

Seeing the air around him change greatly, nearly caught Mitsuri off guard, and almost caused her to tumble backwards, but she stood her ground as she wanted to see how strong the man in front of her was.

Then lifting up his left hand and pulling it back, Joichirou began to hold his breath, and proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait, until he opened his eyes with such a force, that in the blink of an eye, his hand made contact with the boulder in front of him. After feeling a blast of wind blow on her, Mitsuri was pushed to the ground, to which she looked back at the man, then at the boulder. But what she saw completely shocked her to her core.

The boulder, which stood just in front of them had moved just one foot away from where it originally was. Thinking there was no way a blast such as that would not leave a giant crack, she went to investigate it on her own. But as she approached the boulder, she noticed not a single crack in it. It was just as smooth and rough as it was before, almost as if it hadn't been touched, but rather lifted from the ground and placed to where it was now. As she ran her hand above it, she still couldn't believe that such a man, who looked so thin and old, could do such a feat.

.

"How did you…" Mitsuri cut herself off, and just stared at the man before her. "_I found him. I found someone who is as strong as me._" Then before she began to realize what was happening, Mitsuri found herself beginning to tear up.

"I take it you believe me now?" Joichirou spoke as he handed the young girl a handkerchief to dry her tears.

"Mm." Mitsuri answered.

.

After the whole ordeal, Joichirou managed to convince her parents to let her go with him and they both left. As they made back to the Slayer Headquarters, Joichirou introduced Kanroji to the master of the Demon Slayer Corp. After introducing themselves to each other, Joichirou began to teach her a breathing technique.

.

"Won't it be easier if you just taught me yours, Sensei?" Mitsuri asked.

"It will, but there won't be any originality for you." Joichirou answered. "Look there are certain names for Pillars. I'm the Dragon Pillar, and my breath is just a small piece of the First Breath. And because of that, I took it upon myself to teach the new members of the Corp odd breaths suited to them alone. Since your flexible, I think it's best if you had a breath that suits your style of fighting.

"Then, how about calling my breath the 'Love Breathing Technique'?" Mitsuri jokingly responded.

"Then that is what it will be called. Listen you must come up with your own style of fighting, I could only lead you in the direction I believe you could go in, but it's up to you to decide whether you want to follow it or not." Then opening the box that was at the side of his house, Joichirou pulled out a whip.

"Why a whip? Why not a sword like yours?" Mitsuri asked.

"Because with your flexibility, it will be difficult to control such a straight weapon, but with one that is difficult to control, it should be able to counteract, your movements. Try it, and don't be upset if you can't get it the first time. Just take your time and eventually you'll get stronger in no time.

.

_**Present Time (Kanroji's Memories) …**_

.

* * *

Remembering that day like it was yesterday, Kanroji held the whip she received from Joichirou. But that whip had seen better days, since the leather on the whip itself had begun to tear off and hang from the inner parts. Smiling at the broken, worn out whip, Mitsuri grabbed onto the handle and began throwing it around. Listening to the sound of the whip ripping through the air, exhilarated her to no end, since this is how she started, and this is how she'll continue for years to come.

.

"Your still practicing with that broken toy of yours?" A voice spoke, whom Mitsuri knew well.

"Yes, am I, Iguro." Mitsuri smiled as she began to wrap the whip back up and placed it back in the box from where she grabbed it.

"Why not get a new one? Iguro asked after a few seconds of silence.

"There is no need. Because this is the one Master Joichirou gave me." Mitsuri answered while blushing slightly. Then realizing something, she turned around and spoke to Iguro. "Tell me, did you also learn from Master Joichirou, because isn't Serpent Breathing similar to his Dragon Breathing?"

"You barely realized that?" Iguro replied in defeat.

"But why did he teach you?! Why didn't he teach me?" Mitsuri nearly threw a fit but ended up getting flicked on her forehead.

"Because, I was the only one who actually fought back, but even then he didn't teach me his breath, but instead taught me a variation of it." Iguro answered. "So, in actuality, he didn't teach me his breath."

"Okay." Mitsuri replied with puffed cheeks.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

* * *

Placing a box down, Joichirou looked at Mother Spider, who at this point had shrunk herself down so she could fit and placed herself in the box. After closing it, Joichirou lifted the box and placed the straps on his shoulders.

.

"Are you alright in there?" Joichirou asked.

"I'm fine." Mother Spider responded. "Oh, and can you call me Ryoko from now on?"

"Ryoko meaning a woman who is like the dragon. Do you plan on being ferocious on our upcoming battle?" Joichirou jokingly asked.

"Yes." Ryoko answered from inside the box.

"Very well then. I'll be expecting the best from you, Ryoko." And with that both Joichirou and Ryoko both set off on their first mission together.


	18. Chapter 18

_**In what looked to be a deserted village…**_

.

* * *

Both Joichirou and Ryoko both walked through a small village that looked to have no life whatsoever. As Ryoko looked around, she smelled people nearby, but they all had a frightened scent to them. After looking around for a bit, Ryoko spoke up.

.

"Master Joichirou." She started as she began to close the distance made between the two. "All the villagers seemed to be frightened about something, do you know what it is?"

"This place was always prone to attacks from demons." Joichirou answered. "This is the only place that actually believes in demons. See." As Joichirou pointed, Ryoko's attention was directed at a single wisteria saplings that had just begun to bloom. "This is the only place that knows what demon's fear. It is also the place where I met Kibutsuji when I started out as a Demon Slayer."

"You met…" Choking on her words, Ryoko had begun to shiver, only to stop when hearing Joichirou's voice.

"Quit your shaking. I really hate seeing purple." Joichirou spoke without remorse.

"Purple?" Ryoko asked curiously.

"I can see the Colors of the World. And I can see that you're shivering even though your moving." As Joichirou turned around, he looked directly into Ryoko's eyes. "Start taking deep breaths. Even though your still scared, your muscles will loosen."

.

Taking is advice, Ryoko took in a deep breath, and felt her muscles' relaxing. But even though her heart was still beating in a rage, she felt herself beginning to calm down. As she began to take a step forward, Ryoko bumped into Joichirou's back.

.

"Master Joichirou, what's going…" Ryoko was cut off.

"Demons'." Was all Joichirou needed to say to get Ryoko on edge.

.

Using her heighted senses, Ryoko began to sniff out her enemies. But their scent suddenly caught her off guard. The putrid smell of rotting flesh, the dry smell of blood, and the heavy breathing of a demon who had not eaten in what looked to be days, had begun to approach…fast. As Ryoko began to back up, Joichirou spoke up.

.

"I'll distract it, you find a way to injure it. I'm placing my trust in you." And with that, Joichirou pulled out his blade, and rushed towards his enemy.

.

As Ryoko saw him rush forward, she took note of his sword. Unlike the other time she met him, his blade was a coal black, which seemed very odd to her, considering that the last time she saw his blade, she could've sworn she saw a hint of red on it. But not thinking much of it, she extended both of her hands, and began to spin threads around the small village.

.

_**Back at the Butterfly Estate…**_

.

* * *

Nezuko sat herself down on Kaguya's bed, looking a bit defeated. Not even waiting for a respond from the young demon, Nezuko spoke.

.

"Kaguya…" Nezuko hesitated on what she was going to say. "Well…I'm not sure what to say." As she turned her attention to the sleeping demon, Nezuko noticed Kaguya's face. Unlike the first time she had been asleep, Nezuko considered Kaguya as part of her family. And as family, Nezuko's fear had begun to prevent her from talking. Shaking her head, Nezuko looked forward and spoke once more. "I…I've been having some weird dreams. Or maybe memories." Nezuko stopped and looked once more at Kaguya. "I thought that maybe if I can to you I'd be able to make sense of it. It's always been on my mind, but I never was able to talk about to anyone." Looking desperately at Kaguya, Nezuko pleaded. "Tell me…Are the memories I'm seeing…from when I was a demon?"

.

Not getting a response, Nezuko sighed only to hear a voice she never thought she'd hear again.

.

"_You are you. Don't let the past determine who you are._" And with that the voice vanished, like a petal in the breeze.

"Lily…" Looking at Kaguya, Nezuko began to smile sweetly and tear up. Wiping her tears, Nezuko replied. "Thank you…Lily. No, Kaguya."

.

And with that Nezuko slept by Kaguya's side, just to comfort her.

.

_**At the same time…**_

.

* * *

Ryoko and Joichirou had begun to back up. The demon before them was going on a rampage, something the both of them haven't see before. Completely stunned by this Joichirou spoke.

.

"That's actually impressive." Joichirou replied as he looked in awe at the demon before him. "So, that's a demon when it's hungry."

"Now is not the time, Master." Looking forward quickly, Ryoko spoke. "Here he comes."

.

Yelling at the top of his lungs, the demon propelled himself straight towards Joichirou, and at the same time, the man himself readied himself in a stance. With his left leg slightly back and right leg bent forward, he held his sword at chest level and began to breath. Waiting for his opponent to close in, Joichirou waited. At the same time, Ryoko had begun to run around her enemy, with something clearly in her right hand.

Opening his eyes quickly, Joichirou said in his mind:

.

"_Dance of the Dragon, 7__th__ Form: Spinning Fiery Scales._" And as Joichirou moved forward, he began to spin on his right foot and directed himself with his left, he spun counter-clockwise, away from his enemy's attack and at the same time sliced the demon from his back up to chest. What follow was a trail of fire that seemed to take the shape of s dragon's tail.

.

Feeling his body being cut in half, the demon let out an ear piercing scream. This caught the attention of one the occupants inside the house closest to the little battlefield. As a young boy began to watch the battle outside his house, he froze in fear, due to seeing a large amount of blood. He shook so much that the smell of fear caught not only the demon's attention, but Ryoko's as well.

Rushing towards the frozen child, Ryoko's world began to slow down. She didn't know what to do. As she turned to Joichirou, she looked at him, pleading with her eyes for him to do something, but she noticed the old man struggling. Her breath shaking, her whole body shivering under pressure. But in just a small moment, she heard a soft voice speak.

.

"_Protect humans. Once you do, your strength to fight back will surely rise._" Upon hearing the voice, Ryoko began to rise ever so slowly as the voice continued to speak. "_All it takes is one step. Even though it's the hardest step you'll ever take, you will be able to fight knowing that everyone is okay._"

.

Rushing in front of the boy, Ryoko caught her enemy's attack head on. Feeling his power and mad strength just from his fist alone, Ryoko held on, catching the boy's attention as well. Yelling from the bottom of her heart, she began to push back. Seeing her strength begin to rise, caused the demon to back up. Using that opening, she clenched her right hand, and pulled her arm back, causing the demon to skid backwards.

Having the child in hand, she yelled.

.

"I won't let you harm him!" She yelled as vein-like structures began to appear around her eyes. "As long as I'm alive, you won't ever have your way!"

.

Not liking her attitude, the demon rushed up once more. Placing the child behind her, Ryoko extended her right leg back, and waited. As the demon then appeared before her, she lifted her leg and as it made contact with the left side of the demon's head, a crack followed her action.

Seeing what just happened, the boy noticed the demon's head gone from its body, and Ryoko's foot completely shattered. Thinking it hurt so much, the boy approached Ryoko, only for webs to block his path.

.

"Stay there." Ryoko spoke. "He's a demon, he won't die that easily."

.

Listening to the woman's words, the boy stood there and waited for his savior to finish the fight. Limping on her right foot, Ryoko began to back up. As she did she remember her conversation with Suzuha.

.

_**A couple day's prior…**_

.

* * *

"Mom, listen. When it comes to healing you must focus every ounce of your strength in the part that is injured. You must get used to this, otherwise if you do it, you'll feel severely weak once you do." Suzuha spoke with concern in her voice.

"So, that's who Lily is." Ryoko spoke. "So, she isn't fully demon, but she isn't fully human. Just a being in between." As she spoke to herself, she turned to Suzuha. "You name know is Suzuha, right?"

"That's right." Suzuha smiled.

"I wonder if I could ever have a name." As Ryoko said this, Suzuha spoke up quickly.

"Then why not Ryoko. I mean you are with a man who fight like a dragon." Suzuha answered while pointing out Ryoko's interaction with Joichirou.

"Ryoko. Okay then. That will be my name from now on."

.

_**Present time…**_

.

* * *

Breathing ever so slowly, several snaps were heard in the windless night. As Ryoko looked at her right foot, she noticed it snap back into place. As it did, she smiled concerningly.

.

"_I guess Suzuha was right. I was weakened by it._" As Ryoko looked forward, she noticed her enemy's body slowly rising. "Time to end this."

.

Rushing forward once more, with all her remaining strength, Ryoko jumped into the air, and looked directly into her enemy's eyes. As the demon's head restored itself, it looked to see Ryoko falling down from the sky. Surprised by her action, he just stood there. Ryoko began to close the distance between her and her opponent, and at the same time she noticed Joichirou readying himself. Closing her eyes, then opening them in a rush, she began to breath just like a demon slayer.

Seeing the color around act so violently, Joichirou was taken aback by it. Never in his life has he seen a person's color act in such a way. But his attention was brough back to reality when Ryoko yelled out words he never thought he'd hear from her.

.

"Breath of Balance, 11th form…!" And as the demon continued to look at Ryoko, he noticed her disappear from his sight. It was almost as if she never existed. "_Calm Wind._"

.

Joichirou noticed the demon frozen, while Ryoko was kneeling on the ground, struggling. Seeing what had happened, Joichirou rushed forward. By letting go of her battle spirit, Ryoko was able to disappear from sight, just for a short moment. But that moment was enough to allow her to slip by her enemy and wrap him in wires all across his body. But holding him down was another story entirely.

Not wasting a second, Joichirou rushed past both Ryoko and the demon. As he rotated once more, he readied himself and swung his blade. Seeing the oncoming blade, the demon tried to move, but couldn't due to the amount of wires. Not being able to hold back any longer, Ryoko yelled.

.

"Any day now!"

.

Rushing forward with all his might, Joichirou placed the majority of his strength into his blade. Without a second to waste, he swung only to hear the snapping of threads. Realizing this, he back up, and at the same time, Ryoko fell forward.

.

"Oh, crap! Joichirou!" She yelled as she looked back, only to feel her body tremble, as she looked at Joichirou. "What-what's going on?"

.

Ryoko knew that Kibutsuji's blood had not all been destroyed, so it wasn't odd for her to see something that would fear him, but with Joichirou, she felt her body begin to tremble harder than it ever had.

As the demon began to close the distance, Joichirou moved forward. Knowing that this may as well be a last ditch effort, he had to protect the kid behind him. Breathing once more, he solidified his will to fight, causing the air around him to change.

Extending her hands out, she spun some webs and latched them onto the demon, to try and stop him, even for a moment. As the webs landed on her opponent, he began to drag her. Trying her best to hold back, Ryoko's feet had begun to dig into the ground. Gritting her teeth harder and harder, had caused blood to trickle down her mouth. But knowing if she let go, it would be the end.

.

"Joichirou! Now!" Ryoko yelled once more, only to see the man she called out to moving forward.

"_Dance of the Dragon, 12__th__ Form: Ouroboros._" Swinging his blade from his right side, Joichirou's blade made contact with the demon's neck. But as it stopped there, Joichirou, once again placed all his strength into his blade and yelled from the depths of his heart. As his blade then pierced the demon's neck, he rotated around until his blade ended up where it began. What followed afterwards was a trail of fire in the form of what looked to be a dragon.

.

After seeing the demon's head fall to the ground, Ryoko let go and collapsed as well. Exhausted beyond belief she began to pant very heavily, and noticed it was a struggle to get up on her own. As she tried to lift her head, she noticed a small hand come into view. As she looked towards the owner of the hand, she noticed the young boy she protected trying to help. Accepting it, she managed to sit up and looked at Joichirou who began to sheath his blade. But he himself was breathing just as hard as her.

Getting up on her own two feet, Ryoko approached Joichirou.

.

"Great job. This partnership might just work." Joichirou spoke through his heaving breathing.

"Are you alright?" Ryoko asked worried for the old man's sake.

"I'm just old. I believe after a few more fight I'll retire, alongside Kagaya." Joichirou spoke.

.

Then almost as if on cue, the people of the small town began to emerge from their home. As they began to fill the streets, they surrounded both Joichirou and Ryoko. Looking at the horde of people closing in was enough to put Ryoko on edge, but as Joichirou placed his hand on her shoulder, she began to calm down.

After several minutes, Ryoko grabbed the box and placed it on her shoulders. At the same time, Joichirou turned around and looked at his new partner. After saying their goodbyes, both Ryoko and Joichirou left.

.

"I've never been thanked before, it feels weird." Ryoko spoke as the village disappeared from her sight.

"That was all your hard work." Joichirou answered. "If it wasn't for your quick thinking, both the young boy and I would've ended up being killed by that demon. So, thank you, Ryoko." Smiling at Ryoko so suddenly, caused her to face away from the man. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything…is alright." Ryoko answered, trying her best to hide her scarlet red embarrassed face.


	19. Chapter 19

After returning back to the Demon Slayer Headquarters, Joichirou began to explain that a relationship with the demons he encountered back when he was younger and back at Mt. Natagumo is possible.

.

"Hmm, is that so Joichirou?" Kagaya spoke as the candle-lit room showed all the Pillars seated side by side with each other. "Then I guess our next priority will be to find the rest of these Stars. Incidentally, I have one of them looking over my family as we speak."

"And I have one in my estate." Shinobu added, causing everyone to look her way.

"Isn't it dangerous to have two demons in your home, Shinobu?" Tengen asked as he looked towards the smallest Pillar in their group.

"It's fine. She protect my sister some 7 years back and had her mind on it for the entirety of the time." Shinobu replied. "And besides, if she really had some evil intent, she would've attack Tanjiro and Nezuko back when they first met her."

"Well, that is true." Himejima's deep, booming voice was heard as he spoke after listening intently to his comrade's words. "But we have a bigger problem. How are we going to find these demons?"

.

Everyone began to quiet down. Now coming to the realization that they had no idea how these demon's look like, they had nothing to go on. Not even names.

.

"I'll figure something out." Shinobu answered after the silence had begun to annoy her. "I'll speak with Koharu and see if she knows the locations of the other demons in her group."

"Shinobu you do that, while the rest of you…I have a certain job for you." Kagaya spoke while still maintain his small, yet powerful smile.

.

As the Pillars left the meeting room, Kagaya sat by his lonesome self for a few seconds before someone he familiarized with entered the room.

.

"You called for me?" Suzuha spoke up after seeing Kagaya alone in the giant room.

"Tell me Suzuha, is there even a possibility that the group you are a part of can find or even defeat Muzan Kibutsuji?" As he asked, Suzuha was seen walking up to Kagaya ever so slowly.

"While both my sister and I may still be the youngest of the group, we are just as powerful as the ones who had been a part of it for years." Suzuha explained as best as she could. "Unlike Kibutsuji, Lily thought it be best to share the entirety of her strength from the very beginning. Not just to hide behind walls, but instead to guard them."

"So, you are her walls?" Kagaya asked.

"Yes. And we have but one goal." Suzuha stopped for a quick seconds before continuing. "Ensuring that Lily would be able to replicate herself. Hence the reason for Kaguya." Sounding surprised, Kagaya just sat there taking in what the young demon just said. "Kaguya's appearance was not by accident. It wasn't just to keep Tanjiro and Nezuko safe, but instead to ensure that a legacy continued."

"Legacy? What legacy?" Kayaga continued to question the young demon.

.

Speaking ever so softly, Kagaya felt Suzuha's words begin to weigh on his shoulders. Her words were so heavy that if it was a poem, it would definitely move him to tears. After speaking for a few more minutes, Suzuha excused herself from the room, leaving once again Kagaya by his lonesome self.

.

"That is a cursed fate, is it not, Lily?" Kagaya looked up toward the moon and tried to imagine how it looked that night. "You must always be reborn even when you die. You must always carry the burden of people's memories when you move forward, even when you don't want to. Tell me, did you ever cry?" On command, Kagaya's eyes began to tear up. "If not, then I shall cry in your stead."

.

As he did, he felt very warm hands on his shoulders, and at the same time, the sound of wind blowing against the wisteria trees began to grow. Then ever so slowly, a sweet voice spoke up.

.

"_I never cursed myself for having such a fate. So, please don't cry for me, but instead cry for the fate placed upon the children that fight._" And like that the voice vanished alongside the roaring wind.

.

* * *

_**Several days later…**_

* * *

.

"Well, then…" Kyojuro Rengoku bowed and placed his sword on his side as he looked towards Joichirou. "I'll be going now."

"It's a shame that I cannot join you on this mission, Kyojuro." Joichirou spoke softly.

"Don't worry. For your words will always be blazing in my heart, Sensei!" Kyojuro spoke with a grand smile as he pounded his chest with pride.

"Then, take care, and bring back the children who may have lost their way." With those final words, Rengoku left. "To think that one of the 12 Moon's had begun their attack so soon after Lower Moon 5's death." Glaring into the distance, Joichirou spoke to himself. "_Just what are you thinking, Kibutsuji?_"

.

As he began to walk away, Joichirou was so lost in thought, that someone had begun to sneak up on him. And without warning, shot what looked to be a whip, only for Joichirou to dodge it with ease. Seeing this, the enemy tried to grab him with their weapon, but to no avail. After a few short minutes, Joichirou's opponent was exhausted and had stopped attacking.

.

"You've gotten faster, Kanroji." Joichirou complemented Kanroji's efforts. "But I was able to sense your presence. Listen, when you attack, you cannot allow yourself to be seen until it is too late."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Kanroji asked between her heavy breathing. But her answer came to soon, and Joichirou stood just before her, nearly causing her to tumble backwards, but grabbing her hand in time, Joichirou pulled her back to her feet. "Oh, that's how."

.

But before Joichirou could answer, Kanroji closed what little distance they had between them. Surprised by her actions, Joichirou stood there, dumbfounded. Closing the distance more and more, Joichirou began to hear Kanroji's subtle but composed breathing. Sighing after a minute to recollect his thoughts, he pushed away Kanroji.

.

"I understand how you feel, Kanroji." He smiled embarrassingly towards her. "But I'm an old man. It be in her best interest to find someone about your age and with more drive and vigor. You know, someone like Iguro." Not liking how he was speaking, Kanroji closing the distance once more, and wrapped her arms around the old man.

"I don't want to." Kanroji spoke up. "You came to me. You freed me from the life I've known and brought me here. You trained me and gave me a purpose." Seeing a cyan blue rise from her body, Joichirou sighed once more. "I don't care if you are of old age, I want to be there in every moment of your life. Can't you grant my wish?"

"Kanroji, I…" Biting his lower lip, Joichirou sighed and pulled Kanroji's arms off his waist. And after seeing her face, he smiled sweetly at her. "You may spend as much time with me as you want, however, you cannot fall in love with me. That purpose belongs to someone else." After wiping away the tears that had begun to form on her eyes, Joichirou placed his hand on the young girl's head before setting off.

.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, inside said estate…**_

* * *

.

"Huh?!" Shinobu yelled catching everyone's ears, or at least anyone within hearing range. "You don't know where the other members of your group are?"

"I'm telling you, Shinobu, I sensed the others while in Mt. Natagumo, but I never had a chance to interact with them." Koharu was covering her face from Shinobu's outburst.

"Do you know how they look like at least?" Shinobu asked desperately.

"Well, one was a very old man, another used her hair, and another seemed to come from a hunting family. But I guess that doesn't answer your question does it?" Koharu began to chuckle embarrassingly. Then feeling her cheeks being pulled off her face, she began to pat the hands that hurt her. "Psheas shtop." Koharu spoke with her mouth open.

"Well, that is something, but yes it doesn't answer my question." Thinking very hard about, Shinobu put what she just heard from Koharu, then rushed off.

.

Rushing towards the dojo, she opened the door in a hurry that it distracted Tanjiro who almost caught Kanao but missed by a hair. After seeing Tanjiro fall to the ground, Shinobu yelled.

.

"Nezuko, are you here? Zenitsu, too?!" Responding to their names, the two walked up to the Butterfly Pillar. And without warning, grabbed both of their hand and began to drag them away.

.

After taking them outside, both Nezuko and Zenitsu had sat down before Shinobu who looked to be very pissed at this point. Then, without warning, Shinobu spoke, spooking the two young demon slayers.

.

"Why didn't you tell me that you two met one of the Stars?" Shinobu questioned as she began to tap her finger on her arm.

"Wait, we did?!" Zenitsu began to panic. "Are they dangerous, do I have to fight them?!"

"Zenitsu, shut up. You're only making the situation worse." Nezuko spoke. "Besides, didn't I tell you I hate seeing purple?"

"Oh, right. You did say that." Zenitsu answered.

"Nezuko, can you see colors, too?" Shinobu asked completely forgetting why she pulled out the two out of training.

"Huh? Oh yes I can. Ever since I met Lily, I've been able to see colors. But lately, I've been able to see them more clearly." Nezuko responded.

"Then, you're just like Sensei." Shinobu spoke in a quiet voice.

"Um, Miss Shinobu? Were you going to ask us something?" As Nezuko spoke, she brought Shinobu back to reality.

"Oh, right." Shinobu responded as she fully turned her attention back to the young slayers.

.

After explaining the predicament, the Pillars were in, Shinobu asked for a detailed description of any demons with the Star emblem, and as Nezuko began to explain, mostly because Zenitsu had passed out due to fear, she began to recall how the demon they met might be part of said group.

Writing down anything she could that Nezuko spoke, Shinobu listen intently so as to write a more detailed description of the demon they encountered. Nezuko explained what she wore, and how she looked, but wasn't very confident about her description, since she was frozen in fear due to thinking her life was about to end in that moment. But the one thing that she was confident in saying was that the demon used her hair as if it was an extension of her own body. After writing everything down, Shinobu thanked the two and left, but not before leaving some words for Nezuko.

.

"Nezuko, I suggest you go back and see Sensei, since he knows more about the colors of the world better than you do." And with that Shinobu left.

"Colors of the world?" Nezuko repeated as she saw Shinobu leave.

.

* * *

_**Walking out of the Butterfly Estate…**_

* * *

.

Eager to give the news of a lead to the Master, Shinobu left in a hurry, only to see the man she mentioned not long ago.

.

"Sensei!" Shinobu exclaimed as she nearly ran into him upon opening the main door to her house.

"Oh, Shinobu. You seem to be in a rush. Is something the matter?" Joichirou asked concerningly.

"Well, I just told Nezuko to go to you since, she could also see the colors of people like you do, then I see you here before me. So, I was kind of taken aback." Shinobu answered honestly.

"Is that so?" Joichirou began to chuckle a bit.

"Is there something you need?" Shinobu questioned once again.

"No, nothing of the sort. It's just like you said, I came here for Nezuko Kamado, may I enter?" Joichirou answered.

"Go right ahead." Seeing an honest color of magenta coming off of Shinobu shocked Joichirou for a bit, but later composed himself as he walked by her, but not before leaving her with a few words.

"You're finally being honest, huh?" And left Shinobu at the door before she could say anything.

.

* * *

_**Later that evening, aboard the Infinite Train…**_

* * *

.

Before a scream could be sent, it was silence by a hideous monster with multiple eyes. As it began to munch on the woman, blood splattered from its monstrous bite. Spraying on the walls, windows and floor. But even as it did, the demon turned around, only to be sent flying down the cramped hall.

.

"You always take lives needlessly, don't you, Enmu? A slender man spoke as he curved his right hand just below his upper chest, but the creature never responded. "Is that so? Then I guess you'll have to ensure you can only crawl back to that coward of a master of yours."

.

Upon hearing that, the monstrous Enmu rushed forward, only to be sent back to where it originally was. Confused as to what had happened, it tried to move again, only for its attempts to be for naught.

.

"Oh, what's this? Can't move, can you?" the man spoke once more. "Well as it should, creatures such as yourself who thrive on taking, myself, as well as those who follow Lily, thrive from protecting others." As the man said this with confidence, he clenched his right hand to show a star emblem on the back of his hand, shining a bright red for the world to see. "So, let's see how desperate you become with me around, shall we?"


	20. Chapter 20

_**Author's Note: Haven't done one of these in a while. So, hi everyone I thank you for reading this far, and hope you have been reading the manga as well. Incidentally, the new chapter of the manga had given me new story ideas to add here, so be sure to expect that. Anyways that is all I wanted to say.**_

_**Enjoy the story**_

.

_**Living within a memory…**_

.

Seeing other children play outside in the field, a young Joichirou looked with envy. He was the youngest in the family, by about 10 years, his oldest sibling being his sister who was already close to adulthood, and the middle child being his brother who was already in his late teens, were both playing in the field in front of their house with each other as the both of them began to dance around like how they had seen their father move from the night before. Wanting to join, Joichirou tried to move only to be called by his father.

.

"Listen Joichirou." A man of old age spoke as a young Joichirou, of about 7 years, looked towards the man. "You must remember every step that you saw me take. This is how we can keep our legacy. It is the only way we can every thank the woman who had saved our family so many years ago."

"Who is the woman who saved our family, papa?" Young Joichirou asked, only to get a chuckle and a smile from his father.

"You will find out when you are older. Just remember this." As Joichirou turned to face his father fully, he took note of his complexion. His grayish red hair, his stern, yet calm eyes. And his appearance, even though he looked frail, the man was beyond 40 years of age, and still kicking with life. "No matter how long it may take, you must find the 2nd child of the family who does the…"

.

_**Present Time…**_

.

Opening his eyes, Joichirou looked at a very exhausted Nezuko. As she began to sweat up a storm, her breathing had become very uneven and her whole body had begun to tremble from pure exhaustion. Seeing this, Joichirou placed down his sword and sat down.

.

"We will take a break here. But don't you dare collapse. For if you do, we will start training again, understood?" Joichirou spoke as he looked directly at Nezuko's eyes.

"Yes…sir." And slowly placing herself down on the ground, Nezuko sat down and placed her bamboo sword to her right before placing her shaking arms behind her to support her as she looked up to try and calm her breathing. "Why did you call me out to train with you?" Nezuko asked as she began to calm her breathing. "Wouldn't it be better to ask my brother, since he can do the Hinokami Kagura?"

"I have my own reasons for choosing you, Nezuko Kamado." Joichirou answered before turning his head away from her questioning face. "_Mostly because I have to._" Joichirou whispered.

"What was that?" Nezuko questioned once more as she did hear Joichirou say something but was unsure of what he said.

"It is nothing." Was all Joichirou said before looking once more at the young girl. "Tell me. Did your father ever have a mark like the one Tanjiro or you have?"

"No, he just had an injury on his forehead from bumping it when he was younger." Nezuko answered.

"That's it?" Joichirou asked once more.

"That's it." Nezuko answered again, with an airhead expression.

.

After about an hour of rest, Nezuko continued her training under Joichirou. As she swung her sword, Joichirou always stopped her ever so often, and changed her feet position, as well as removed her unnecessary movement. The feeling of being trained once more brought a smile to Nezuko's face as she remembered being trained by Makomo when she was just training by herself. Seeing her smile, Joichirou spoke up.

.

"Why are you smiling, Nezuko?" Joichirou asked.

"Oh, well this just reminded me of the time I began to train under Urokodaki." Nezuko answered as she brought her sword down. "It made me feel nostalgic, is all."

.

Upon hearing Urokodaki's name, Joichirou turned around. Seeing a different color coming off of him, caused Nezuko to back up. She was always used to seeing the bright red coming off of Joichirou, but now she saw…

.

"Dark blue." Nezuko spoke out, only to see Joichirou's normal color come back.

"Let's continue." Joichirou answered right away, to try and hide the emotions he showed.

.

_**At the Demon Slayer Headquarters…**_

.

Unsure as to why she was called, Ozaki sat before Kagaya. Fiddling with her fingers, while looking down, as to not make eye contact, she began to fear what may happen to her.

.

"Ozaki." Was all Kagaya needed to say in order to get Ozaki on edge.

"Yes?!" Ozaki yelled.

"There is no need for you to be so tense, loosen up." Kagaya spoke before recalling his thoughts. "Didn't Joichirou always say, 'if your ever feeling tense, just take a deep breath and you will be able to relax'. I believe you should do that before I continue."

"Yes, Master." And in doing so, Ozaki stopped shaking, and looked forward with confidence.

"He has raised you well." Kagaya spoke softly and honestly. "When he first introduced you to the Demon Slayer Corp, you were about 7, right?"

"Yes, Master. I was." Ozaki curious as to where this was going, answered honestly.

"Ozaki, I am here by granting you the rank of Tsuchinoto." Hearing him say that, caused Ozaki to look at the man with confusion. "I can tell that this may be confusing, but there is a good reason." He added before continuing. "As of right now, you are the only one who has ever come in contact with the leader of a mysterious group we have been looking for. Taking into consideration of how a careful planner this groups leader was, it's not hard to see she may have chosen one of my slayers to be a representative."

"And you're thinking that it may be me?" Ozaki asked.

"Correct. That is the only possibly I could think of at the moment." Kagaya answered. "Besides, she fixed your arm, did she not?" Kagaya smiled, as his sickly eyes stared at Ozaki with hope.

.

Looking at her right arm, that during her battle at Mt. Natagumo had been severely damaged, had finally healed a bit too quickly, which shocked everyone around her. Especially the Butterfly girls who had watched over her.

.

"Now that you mention, it had healed rather quickly." Ozaki said as she placed her left hand on her right arm. "Is that why you called me here?" She asked.

"That is only part of it. What I called you for here is this woman were are currently looking for, or she may be sleeping at the moment, we are not sure, may have left you something that only you would notice." Kagaya responded. "That is why I raised your rank, so you could take on more treacherous missions. And why you would be able to apply yourself to mission only meant for upper swordsman." Upon hearing that, Ozaki looked at her right hand and clenched her fist.

"I won't let you down. And also, I'll be going as soon as possible." And with that Ozaki ran off without so much as waiting for any final words.

.

_**Running with all her might…**_

.

Ozaki ran back to the Butterfly Estate, to tell her friends that she would be leaving soon and wanted to get her farewells out of the way. Especially with a certain boy.

.

"Haa!" Inosuke scoffed after hearing Ozaki telling her goodbye. "Why should I care if you're saying goodbye?!"

"It's proper etiquette to say goodbye to people who are dear to you." Ozaki answered after unplugging her ears from Inosuke's yelling. "And besides, I'm higher ranked than you now."

"Huh?" Inosuke froze. Taking the opportunity, Ozaki embraced Inosuke before backing up.

"I just wanted to say thanks for teaching me all that you know. Well, I'm off!" And with that Ozaki left a stunned Inosuke all by his lonesome self.

"Huh?" Was all Inosuke could say, due to his thoughts being somewhere else.

.

Next on her agenda was seeing that man that helped raise her. A man she had come to know as a second father figure. The only person to teach her a far different breathing technique than anyone else: Joichirou.

Upon arriving, at the house she grew up in for the majority of her life, Ozaki walked straight into the bamboo forest without even stepping into the house. She knew the man far better than anyone. Ozaki knew that the old man would never be in the house on a day like this, but instead be outside sharpening his skills to their max. As she began to close the distance, Ozaki heard two voices. One was easily recognizable as Joichirou's, but she couldn't make out who the other one was. As she got closer, her questions were answered.

Seeing Joichirou move faster than he had ever done before, moving left, right. Ducking under, then jumping over the young girl in front of him, Ozaki realized what was happening and couldn't even contain her excitement and ran forward.

.

"Sensei! Nezuko!" Ozaki yelled, as she approached the two, but later came to regret it as Nezuko turned her attention, only to get smacked with a bamboo sword to the head.

"Haa. Never let yourself get distracted by anything, young Nezu- oh." Joichirou also came to regret taking the initiative of the situation. "Would you mind helping me carry her back into the house, Ozaki?"

"Yeah, sure. I also feel responsible for this." Picking up the unconscious Nezuko, Ozaki realized something. "She has a lot more muscle than I realized. How long have you been training her for?"

"This is her first day alone, I haven't been training her that much. She must have gained the muscle from learning the Water Breathing." Joichirou answered.

"Oh. Wait so is she the second child you spoke about?" Ozaki asked.

"She is." Joichirou responded.

.

After entering the house, Ozaki placed Nezuko down and began to pat the girl's head smoothly. Then looking at the old man, Ozaki spoke up.

.

"I'll be leaving soon. I wanted to be able to tell you in person." Ozaki responded as she waited for Joichirou to respond.

"Is that so? Good luck." Joichirou answered nonchalantly as he had his back turned from the young girl.

"Okay." Ozaki responded with embarrassment.

.

After sitting in silence for a good few minutes, Ozaki spoke up once again.

.

"Are you still feeling guilty about what happened?" Seeing Joichirou jump from her question, Ozaki knew exactly what her answer was. "I told you, you don't have to be. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is fate."

"It wasn't." Joichirou answered, sounding more angry than usual. "I was there. I had him. But…he got away from my blade. How can I ever live with myself?" Placing her arms around him, Ozaki spoke soothingly.

"Mama and papa wouldn't like you to beat yourself over this. And they will certainly hate you if they continue to see you restricting yourself to this extent." Ozaki spoke the truth that Joichirou knew. "They would want you to fight to your fullest, and until your last breath, isn't that why you took me in?"

"Yeah, your right." Joichirou answered. "It's best if you get going. Wouldn't want you to miss your first mission."

"Right." And with that, just like the wind, Ozaki disappeared.

.

As the sun had begun to set, Joichirou sat on his porch looking out towards the horizon of the mountain, where the sun had begun to set. He sat there until the sun was just behind the mountain. As he got up he turned his attention toward the sleeping child in his living room. Smiling at the sight, he spoke to himself.

.

"_Why am I restricting myself?_" And Joichirou left Nezuko alone for the rest of the day.

.

_**The following day…**_

.

Even before the sun came up, Joichirou and Nezuko had begun to train once more. Continuing the same pattern as the day before, Nezuko had swung, and just when she thought she had a good grasp of it, Joichirou let reality hit and knocked her sword out of her hand.

.

"You were too slow to react." Joichirou stated. "Listen, when it comes to battle, you must take into account as to what is around you. No matter how meaningless it is."

"Why would I do that, wouldn't it…you know distract me?" Nezuko tried her best to put her thoughts into words as she picked up her sword, only to get hit in the back of her hand with Joichirou's bamboo sword.

"Nothing is ever meaningless." Was all Joichirou said with a cunning smile.

"Okay." Nezuko responded as she rubbed the back of her hand.

.

Continuing with the pattern for what seemed like hours, Joichirou and Nezuko began to spar against each other. But it was clear to Nezuko that there was a significant difference in skill between the two of them. Exhausted beyond compare, Nezuko began to breath in, when out of nowhere, Joichirou slapped her stomach, causing her to exhale. Looking at Joichirou with fear, Nezuko yelled.

.

"What was that for?!" Nezuko screamed, only to see Joichirou plugging his ears with his fingers. "I could've died!"

"But you didn't." Joichirou spoke calmly as he unplugged his ears.

.

Now realizing what just happened, Nezuko noticed herself still standing and breathing normally as well. Shocked from the sudden improvement, caused her to collapse. Seeing this, Joichirou knelt by the young girl's side and spoke.

.

"You're improving a lot. Much faster than I have ever anticipated." As Joichirou began to praise Nezuko for her efforts, he noticed tears beginning to stream from her eyes. "Now that your movements had caught up with your breathing, let's begin your other training."

"What training?" Nezuko asked afraid of what Joichirou was going to say.

.

But all Joichirou did was smile, to which sent a shiver down the young demon slayer's spine.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Within Kaguya's Memories…**_

* * *

.

As snow began to lightly fall from the sky, a mid-20s Kaguya laid down on the ground, looking up into the pitch black sky, not once shivering from the cold. As she continued to stare, her nose was lightly touched by a snowflake causing her to sniff the frozen water. Extending her tongue out, Kaguya licked the snow that fell on her face.

.

"It taste weird." She spoke to herself as she began to hear footsteps in the snow.

"What are you doing here, little one?" As Kaguya looked up, she noticed a man with a similar appearance to Tanjiro holding an axe over his shoulder. "You know, if you stay out here you're going to catch a cold."

"There is no need for you to concern yourself with me, stranger." Kaguya spoke as she once again turned her attention back to the pitch black sky.

"There's no need." Then the strange man bent down and sat next to Kaguya. "I believe it's always a good thing to concern myself with others, especially if they are demons."

.

Jumping from his words, Kaguya placed a considerable distance between the two of them. She knew that "that man" had taught the Demon Slayer Corp a new way of fighting, but for one to come up to her and not attack, was something she was never used to.

.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not with the Demon Slayer Corp. I'm just your average coal maker." The man answered as he threw his axe far away from him. "See, I mean no harm."

"What do you want?" Kaguya asked as her eyes began to glow a bright red, only for her head fall off. "_What was that? I didn't even see him. It was almost like, 'he' was standing in front of me._"

"I see. You didn't even try to attack nor defend. So…you are her." The man spoke as he turned back to face Kaguya, who at this point had reattached her head to the rest of her body.

"Just who are…" Then Kaguya noticed the Hanafuda earring hanging from his ears. "I get it. Am I to presume that you are the man that 'he' saved?"

"He saved my family, as well as myself. So, yes." Accepting the fact, Kaguya closed the distance.

"Forgive me. Most demon hunters, when they see me they just attack without question. Can we make a compromise?"

"Why not." The man answered.

.

Their compromise between the two was this: Neither group shall attack the other, and if one does, then the other will have no ill-will if the other group kills the one who attacked.

.

"But how will I know who belongs to you?" The man asked only to see Kaguya loosening her kimono. "Wha-what-what are you doing?!" The man asked in a panic as he shielded his eyes from seeing the young girl's chest.

"This mark." Kaguya parted her breast with both her hand to show a large crimson star-like emblem sitting in between her breast. "This mark will be your identifier for any demon who follows me."

.

Now staring at the mark fully, the man began to understand why "that man" trusted her so much. She wasn't like any other demon, she truly cared about humans, and was willing to die by his hands if it meant they could be at peace. Dropping to his knees, the man asked.

.

"Can you ever forgive me?" He asked, as tears began to fall from his cheeks.

"I will. Only if you allow me to give you something in return." Looking up, the man noticed blood dripping from Kaguya's thumb, then as she began to trace a mark on his face, she smiled. "Now…we're even, Sumiyoshi."

.

* * *

_**Waking up from the dream…**_

* * *

.

As her eyes opened and wandered the enclosed room, Kaguya rose from the bed and looked out the window, only to see no sunlight trying to enter through the closed curtain. Walking out from the bed, Kaguya, looking to be 13 or 14, opened the door leading to her room and walked out.

As she walked the quiet corridors, she walked out to what appeared to be the garden, where a certain young demon slayer stood, just watching the moon. Curious by nature, Kaguya walked out into the garden and stood behind her, and just waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. Now even more curious as to whether or not the demon could sense her, Kaguya extended her hand, only for the young slayer to turn around quickly and grabbed hold of Kaguya's hand. Seeing that it was Kaguya, the young slayer let go and began to walk away, only for Kaguya to step in her path.

.

"Don't walk away, Kanao." Kaguya spoke fully, surprising Kanao. "Sit. I want to talk."

.

Listening to the demon, Kanao sat down about 2 feet away from Kaguya, for her own safety. As Kaguya sat down, she looked up towards the moon.

.

"The moon is pretty, no?" Kaguya spoke, only to hear a coin flip, then land.

"It is." Kanao spoke quickly.

"Must you always rely on that?" Kaguya asked as she pointed at the coin.

"I must. I can never think for myself." Kanao answered.

"Hmm?" Kaguya answered, only to then come up with an idea. "Can I see that?"

.

Agreeing to it, Kanao passed on the coin to Kaguya, who at this point eagerly jumped up to her feet and walked around in front of Kanao.

.

"Okay, since it's important for you to follow orders, let's make this an order." Kaguya said as Kanao agreed. "Whatever side this coin lands on, will determine your faith. Heads you follow my orders, tails you continue doing what you do, okay?"

"Okay." Kanao agreed without even thinking.

.

Then before she could even take her words back, the coin was launched right into the air far from any prying eyes. As the two began to look into the pitch black sky, which was illuminated by the Moon's light, the sound of the coin falling back to Earth resonated in the night, then the sound of hands slapping against each other, caused Kanao to look back towards Kaguya, who at this point was standing in front of her.

.

"Are you ready, Kanao?" Kaguya asked, then looked up. "Shinobu?"

"Yes, let's see what Kanao's fate is." Shinobu spoke spooking Kanao. "Oh my."

"Okay, Kanao, here we go." As Kaguya's hand slowly began to move away from her other hand, it began to reveal the coin underneath. "And it's…head." Sure enough, the coin showed the letters of head written plain as day. "I guess she's listening to me now, huh, Shinobu?" Kaguya smiled, with her intentions hidden underneath.

"Oh my, is that so?" Shinobu smiled as well, with the exact same intentions.

.

All the while, Kanao sat in between them confused as to whether or not take her new master's side or Shinobu's side, because in her eyes, she saw a dragon appear behind Kaguya, and a tiger appear behind Shinobu.

.

"_I…I don't know what to do._" Kanao thought to herself.

.

* * *

_**At Joichirou's Estate…**_

* * *

.

As the sound of bamboo swords hitting each other echoed throughout the forest, Nezuko and Joichirou began to fight like their lives depended on it. Swing up, blocking up, swinging down, blocking to her left. Their swords moved so fast it was all a blur to anyone who just so happened to come across them. But even so, Nezuko continued to catch up to Joichirou's fast movements, if not caught up entirely.

.

"_Dance of the Dragon, 7__th__ Form, Revised: Spinning Rapid Scales!_" Nezuko yelled in her mind as she placed a considerable distance between her and Joichirou, and spun counter-clockwise, catching Joichirou off guard. And at the same time, Joichirou noticed a water dragon form beginning to shape and follow Nezuko's blade.

"_Impressive._" Joichirou thought to himself. "_Looks like what Tomioka said was true, she was a demon before. Well, not that it matters now._" Not being able to contain his excitement, Joichirou called up his own form. "_Dance of the Dragon, 1__st__ Form: Triple Sun Dragon Dance!_"

.

And right in front of her, Nezuko slowly saw three blades come into existence, but it was odd. The blades seemed to be a lot slower than usual. But it was no surprise to her since her eyes had become adjusted to seeing things slowly, with the help of Joichirou.

.

"_Too slow. It's far too slow._" Nezuko thought to herself as she switched forms midway. "_Dance of the Dragon, 8__th__ Form…_" Nezuko flipped herself with ease, creating a circular flame as she flipped. "_Solar Flaming Dragon!_" As she yelled the name deep within her heart, the water burst into a low, crimson red and blocked all of Joichirou's oncoming attacks.

.

Seeing this, Joichirou, for the first time backed up as he was astounded upon seeing Nezuko, a person whom he has taught for no more than a month, successfully change forms in a matter of seconds, without losing the momentum needed to make her blade deadly.

As the two froze, Nezuko's blade was at Joichirou's neck, while Joichirou's blade was at her stomach. Smiling at the sight, Joichirou dropped his blade and surrendered.

.

"I…win…" Nezuko proclaimed as she began to catch her breath.

"So, it would seem." Joichirou smiled grandly at the sight. "Congratulations, Nezuko. From this point forth, I have nothing else to teach you."

"Huh? Wait that can't be. There has to be more!" Nezuko panicked only to feel a flick to her head.

"Nezuko, you are far different from the rest in terms of passion." Joichirou explained. "Besides, I heard from Tomioka that you were once a demon, but all I see before me is a young girl, who will do anything to protect those she loves."

"Ah, even when you heard that, yet, you still took the risk of teaching me?" Nezuko asked.

"It's because I feel most responsible." Joichirou answered.

"Responsible…how?"

.

Not even answering Joichirou began to walk away, with Nezuko right behind him. As they walked through the dimly lit forest, Joichirou began to talk.

.

"It happened roughly 20 years ago. When I was about to turn 25…I met Muzan Kibutsuji." As the name caught Nezuko off guard, she began to back up, only to shake her doubts and treaded forward.

.

* * *

_**20 years prior…**_

* * *

.

"_I heard Muzan usually took advantage of people's fears and weaknesses. And since I had a curse upon me, I acted in such a way to try and grab his attention. And wouldn't you know it…it worked. Far too well._"

.

As a young Joichirou, looking down and defeated with the lighting mark plastered across the right side of his face, saw Muzan before him, looking at him with a sinister smile.

.

"Why are you looking so defeated, slayer?" Muzan asked cockily.

"I'm a cursed man." Joichirou answered, trying his best to contain his emotions.

"Oh…is that so?" As Muzan looked up and down at Joichirou he noticed really good features about him. "I can save you." Muzan answered.

"Huh?" The question grabbed Joichirou's attention. "Save me, how?"

"Become a demon." Muzan extended his hand out. "And if you do, you could even surpass Death itself."

.

As Joichirou began to walk up ever so slowly, his face lightened up at the fact that he might be able to surpass his curse and become even stronger. Or, so Muzan thought. As Joichirou began to approach, ever so slowly, he stopped where he was, only for Muzan to fall to the ground.

As Muzan began to spit up blood, he noticed Joichirou's face and began to shake. Never in almost 500 years, has a demon slayer been able to cut him so effortlessly. And not only that, he noticed his blade a dark crimson red, not from the blood that soaked on it, but from the color of the blade instead.

.

"_I successfully had him in my sights, and not wasting a single moment, swung my blade down, and sliced and diced him more, leaving only his head in my grasp._"

.

Muzan, continuously coughing up blood caused Joichirou clicked his tongue.

.

"You are a stubborn one, I'll give you that." Joichirou spoke, his voice filled with malice. "But don't think that you can just go on doing what you do, Muzan Kibutsuji."

"You…you're…" Muzan began to speak only for Joichirou to speak up.

"That's right. I'm his descendant. You better thank that demon woman, since it was her who helped my family. Say your goodbyes!"

.

As Joichirou began to thrust his blade at Muzan's head to completely kill him, another blade came into view and caused Joichirou to back up and drop Muzan's head.

.

"_Shit. I took too long!_" Joichirou thought to himself as he backed up only to see Muzan putting himself back together through the tiny pieces Joichirou cut. "No!"

.

Rushing forward, the blade once again struck, only to be stopped by Joichirou's blade.

.

"Out of my way!" Joichirou spoke, far angrier than when he spoke to Muzan.

"I won't let you." The voice spoke, as it swung its blade. "Breath of the Moon 5th Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy." As multiple curved slashes came rushing towards Joichirou, it looked to resemble a rising vortex. Not liking the situation, Joichirou readied his blade.

"Dance of the Dragon: 11th Form: Fiery Dragon Vortex!" And with a swing of his sword, Joichirou created his own vortex, which counteracted the oncoming attack.

"What?" The demon spoke, as he saw the attack, and its similarity to an attack from someone he recognized a long time ago. "Who are you?" The demon asked.

"Why would I tell my name to a demon?" Joichirou continued to look at Muzan who at this point was almost completely restored.

.

Not letting the opportunity pass him, Joichirou rushed forward and attacked once more.

.

"Dance of the Dragon, 1st Form: Triple Sun Dragon Dance!" And thus, three blades appeared and cut his enemy down, and continued to rush forward towards Muzan, only to see a monstrosity coming towards him.

.

Out of instinct, Joichirou quickly swung his blade at the worm-like creature, as fast as he could. Cutting, slicing, dicing. All of it was meaningless as the creature continued to heal itself and continued its barrage.

.

"_I can't get closer. This thing…it's ginormous. Damn it. I was so close! I can't let it end here._" Feeling a bad presence behind him, Joichirou timed his attack as the creature circled around and went straight for him.

.

Moving at the last moment, caused the creature to move past Joichirou and straight into his enemy. Now running forward, he noticed that Muzan was gone. Running in the direction of a clearing, Joichirou knew the path well, since the village of his friend was nearby. And with all the injuries Muzan sustained, he was going to need a ton of sustenance in order to survive. Not like the situation one bit, Joichirou put everything he had into his legs and boosted himself forward.

But as he arrived, he noticed the damage was already done. Blood splatter was everywhere you looked. The screams of families as they saw the carnage of their loved ones taken away so horrendously. Gritting his teeth to the point to where they looked like they break, Joichirou ran forward and towards a certain house. Upon arriving, he noticed two people dead up against a door. But one of the people caught Joichirou's attention.

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"Kazuma." Joichirou's voice broke upon seeing his family friend dead and pinned toward the door. Then looking at the woman, Joichirou closed his eyes and began to walk away, only to hear a muffled cry.

.

Hearing the cry, he moved straight towards his friend's corpse, moved it out of the way, and sliced opened the door. Upon entering he saw a young girl, no more than 1 year of age, crying as loud as she could. Picking up the child, with the dim light entering through the door, Joichirou said a name he remembered from one of the letters sent by his friend: _"Ozaki"_. Feeling sorry for the child, Joichirou held it close, and began to apologize, and continued to apologize even as the sun began rise.

.

* * *

_**Present Time…**_

* * *

.

"Later, when I heard from Tomioka after our fight at Mt. Natagumo, he explained to me that when last he saw you, you were a demon and thought that your blood contained a cure of sorts." Joichirou continued talking even as they entered his house. "But I was more interested in the Hanafuda earrings your brother was wearing so I never really cared for the matter. But now that you stand before me, I can't help but feel responsible for the loss of your family."

"You've been dealing with a lot, haven't you?" Nezuko spoke after a few minutes of silence. "But don't feel responsible. You were stopped and distracted, there was no way you could've saved all those people and defeated Muzan as well. Maybe it wasn't your responsibility."

"Perhaps, but even so…If I ever see that man again, I will stop him long enough for someone to give him the finishing blow. Even if it cost me my life." And with that the night had begun to end for the two slayers.

.

As they sat in silence, they just listened to the sounds of the night, not knowing what was ahead for them.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: Hey everyone. Sorry for not posting in a while. Was busy with other stories, also had a bit of writer's block. But now...I'm back on track

So, expect this story to catch up big time. That's all I wanted to say. Thanks and enjoy the story.

* * *

_**.**_

_**Atop the Infinite Train…**_

.

As the train continued to move at its speed, Minoru's coat fluttered constantly as the wind passed him by. Turning around, Enmu faced his enemy and smiled.

.

"Took a while, but I finally found you." Minoru spoke.

"Tsk. You're just a waste of time." Enmu clicked his tongue at the pseudo-demon's sight.

"Waste of time. Funny you should say that, considering…I know where you actually body is." Minoru smiled wickedly, causing Enmu's fight or flight response to kick in and devour the man in an instant.

"You should always watch your surroundings." Enmu had begun to laugh, only for him to spit up blood.

"You should take your own advice, you know?" Minoru walked up from behind Enmu and began to clean his hands with a handkerchief. "Out of all the demons Lily created, I'm the one who act more like a gentleman than anyone around me." As he let go of the handkerchief, it fluttered in the wind and far past the train as it left.

"What did you do?" Enmu spoke as he continued to cough up blood.

"Me? I simply had a visit with your true body. In about week, you'll feel a pain far greater than you have ever felt in your life. Consider it my gift to you." Minoru smiled a gentleman's smile. "It's best if you suffered now, so you can at least be used to it when you get your ticket to Hell. Oh, and don't worry, I already have mine's, so I'll be seeing you very soon." And with that Minoru disappeared.

"Even if you hide on this train, I will find you. I'll just continue to consume everyone on this train and kill anyone who stands in my way." Enmu's ultimatum was spoken to himself and no one else.

.

_**At the Butterfly Estate…**_

.

Dodging, jumping, spinning, Kanao Tsuyuri was trying her best on avoiding her enemy, Nezuko Kamado. As the boys, Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu just watched as Nezuko began to close the distance. In the month she had been away with Joichirou, they all saw a significant improvement in her movements, not once using any extra movement.

Breathing in a different way from the way she usually breaths, Nezuko flipped up in the air, and grabbed a hold of Kanao's shoulders, at least for the time being. Her excess weight caused both girls to tumble forward and fall towards the ground with elegance. Pushing herself off the ground, Nezuko looked down towards the ground to see Kanao looking up at her. Embarrassed at the situation, Nezuko spoke.

.

"This…isn't what it looks like." But without warning, Kanao placed her hand on Nezuko's face, and tossed her aside. "I had that coming."

"That…that was amazing, Nezuko!" Tanjiro exclaimed as he approached his sister to give her a hand. "How did you get so fast? And in a month no less."

"I had a great teacher." Nezuko answered with an embarrassed smile.

.

As the other boys looked with envy, they looked at each other and walked out of the dojo.

.

"Where are those two going?" Nezuko asked, only to begin hearing yells and screams.

"Oh, I guess they're training again." Tanjiro answered with a calm face.

"You call yelling training?" Nezuko looked with confusion plastered on her face.

.

As the two Kamado siblings continued to talk, Kanao placed her left hand on her right shoulder, then looked back at Nezuko. For the first time, Kanao felt what it was like to lose. But it didn't bother as much, in fact she began to feel a different emotion. Something she was not used to.

.

_**One Week Later…**_

As everyone began to say their goodbyes, Nezuko placing Kaguya in the small box that was meant for her. As she walked out of the room, box strapped to her shoulders, she walked down the hallway only to see Tanjiro waving Kanao goodbye. Seeing Kanao hold onto something close to her heart, Nezuko approached her quietly.

.

"If you want him, you can take him." Nezuko spoke, spooking Kanao and having her fall flat on her face onto the ground. "My bad."

.

_**As the group began to leave…**_

.

Tanjiro had set his sights on the location where a certain pillar was, while Nezuko was sent in another location. Before leaving Nezuko handed the box carrying Kaguya and passed it onto Tanjiro.

.

"Be careful, please." Nezuko spoke.

"I will." Tanjiro reassured his sister as he began to leave with Inosuke and Zenitsu who was complaining about not getting the same mission as Nezuko.

.

Laughing embarrassingly, Nezuko watched as the three boys disappeared off into the distance. Then turning around, Nezuko walked back to the estate. As she did, Nezuko ran into Shinobu.

.

"Oh, Shinobu." Nezuko spoke.

"They left already?" Shinobu asked.

"They did." Nezuko answered as she looked back on the path that her brother walked.

_**1 Hour Later…**_

.

"WHAT?!" Zenitsu yelled as he began to shake Tanjiro furiously. "You mean to tell me that I could've gone with Nezuko because this wasn't a mission!"

"I'm sorry, but you both decided to follow me. So, don't get angry with me. Please?!" Tanjiro began to beg as he began to see his world spin faster and faster.

"Shut up!" Inosuke yelled as he slammed his head into both Tanjiro and Zenitsu's back. "Let get a move on!"

.

Then, the trio began their journey once again. But as Tanjiro began to run, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. Even though it was quick, he knew exactly what it was. A woman dressed in what he believed was a light blue kimono, smelling a blue colored flower. Stunned by the sudden appearance of a person in the middle of nowhere, Tanjiro stopped himself and looked, only to see no one there.

.

"Tanjiro, what's wrong?" Zenitsu asked as he saw Tanjiro staring into the bamboo forest.

"No, it's nothing." Tanjiro answered as he began to catch up with the other two boys.

.

_**Several minutes later…**_

.

As the woman dressed in a light blue kimono that had snow patterns on her right side showed herself. As the boys finally left her sight, she smiled wickedly. Then placing her hand on her face, she spoke.

.

"I…found…you, Tan~ji~ro." The woman sang Tanjiro's name as she began to walk opposite of the boy's direction.

.

_**Back on Mount Natagumo…**_

.

As Joichirou and Nezuko began to look around the vast forest that once belonged to Lower Moon 5, Nezuko shivered.

.

"Are you alright, Ms. Kamado?" Joichirou asked as he continued to walk farther into the forest.

"You can just call me Nezuko. Ms. Kamado was my mother." Nezuko answered as she closed the distance between her and Joichirou. "And I really don't like being here. It really freaks me out."

"It's best if you get rid of those emotions." Joichirou answered.

"Why?" Nezuko asked.

"There was a certain skill that was taught in my family. When you rid yourself of your human emotions, another world opens up to you." Joichirou answered. "I've tried teaching it to others but in the end, they couldn't handle it. Even Ozaki had difficulty."

"Really?" Nezuko spoke to herself as she began to remember hearing something similar before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "_I'm sure I've heard about the world that Joichirou was talking about, but I can't seem to remember._" But as her eyes were closed, Nezuko didn't realize Joichirou stopping and bumped into his broad back. "Ow!" Nezuko exclaimed as she began to rub her nose. "Why did you stop?!" But as she looked at Joichirou, Nezuko noticed the 40 year old man hold his index finger up towards his mouth to silence her.

.

As Nezuko began to quiet down, that's when she heard what Joichirou heard. The sound of something slithering across the leaf filled ground, making its presence known to those who wandered the forest. Slowly placing her hand upon her handle of her blade, Nezuko readied herself as she began to looked around slowly. Then without warning, the sound of a blade swung through the air. As Nezuko turned around, she noticed Ozaki behind her, with her sword in plain view.

.

"Oh, papa. Nezuko. What are you doing here?" Ozaki asked as she stabbed her blade into the ground.

"Ozaki?!" Nezuko exclaimed. "You were here?"

"Yeah. I received an order from the Master to find something out. But lately I've haven't had any luck. But then, this…" As Ozaki crouched down, she looked at the tip of her blade. "This had been slithering around the forest for quite some time and it has been bothering me."

"So, the reason why you haven't contacted me was because you were busy trying to find where this 'thing' was." Joichirou asked as he pointed at the hair-looking object.

"Sorry." Ozaki answered in an embarrassed tone.

.

As the now trio began to look around the forest, they continued to hear the echoing of slithers coming from all around.

.

"Well…" Joichirou answered. "This is going to be fun."

.

_**Later that night, aboard the Infinity Train…**_

.

"Yahoo! This is amazing! Amazing, I say!" Inosuke yelled out the window of the moving train as it zipped through the land at a high speed. "Alright! I'm going to run along side it and see who's fastest!"

"Don't you idiot!" Zenitsu began to tug and pull on Inosuke as the boar boy himself tried to climb out the window. "There's no way you can beat this vehicle!"

"Let go!" Inosuke began to fight back as Zenitsu struggled to keep his grip on the boy.

"No, you…have to stay in the train!" Unaware of the chaos they were causing, many eyes began to look in the two boy's direction, all the while Tanjiro began to apologize profusely for making so much noise.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Tanjiro continued his apologies as his two partners were struggling in the background. But just as Tanjiro was about to apologize once more, a familiar scent flowed past Tanjiro's nose. "Zenitsu, Inosuke."

"Yeah. I feel it." Inosuke answered as he changed his attention towards the newly found demon. "Let's go kill it." The boar boy said as he began to place his hands on his blade when Zenitsu spoke up.

.

"Wait. Both of you look around." As both Tanjiro and Inosuke looked around they noticed everyone as still as stone. Confused by this, Tanjiro placed his hand on one person's shoulders only to go through it.

"It's like a mirage of sorts. Do you think that this is the demon's blood art?" But before anyone had a chance to answer, someone spoke up before them.

"It's mine, Tanjiro Kamado." The voice spoke from behind the trio.

.

As Tanjiro and Inosuke turned around, Zenitsu froze from fear. As both teenage boys held their hands on their swords, the only person able to move was looking at a newspaper. Then folding the paper up, he began to stand. Seeing this as a threat, Inosuke rushed forward.

.

"You're dead!" The boar masked boy yelled as he began his approach. "_Breath of the Beast: 8__th__ Fang: Pig Assault!_" But before he could swing his blades, the demon in front of him caught the blades with his bare hands. "_What?!_"

"I'd be careful if I were you. I'm only messing with people's sights, not their physical body. If you swing your blades when there are so many people, you could end up killing someone." Minoru spoke. "Beside, I only have business with the red haired boy behind you."

.

After letting go of Inosuke's blades, Minoru looked at his hands, and began to see them heal instantly. Smiling at the sight, he began to clench his fist.

.

"Damn. Being a demon really does have its perks." Minoru spoke.

"What do you want?" Tanjiro asked, clearly on edge.

"Don't bother being so tense, my good sir. I only wish to talk to Kaguya, since I still have to introduce myself to her." Minoru spoke.

"Wait you…you know…?" Looking at the box that hung from his back, Tanjiro began to shake. "How do I know you won't kill her?"

"If I wanted to, I could've killed you all." Minoru spoke. "But, sadly, she would've prevented that from happening, even if she was exhausted." Then without warning, he lifted his right hand and showed a star-like emblem on the back of his hand. "This insignia is the only proof you need to know that I am loyal to Lily, or in this case, Kaguya."

.

Then walking up without making a sound, Kaguya, her eyes glowing a menacing red began to approach as she began to age from an infant form, to a 13 year old. Kneeling down, Minoru bowed before Kaguya's presences. All the while, Tanjiro was astonished at how Kaguya managed to move without him noticing.

Then without saying a word, Kaguya walked back and placed herself back in the wooden box and shut the door. Getting up, Minoru turned his attention fully towards Tanjiro.

.

"Tanjiro Kamado." Minoru spoke. "Listen well. Lower Moon 1 is here. I've managed to keep him at bay. This world you see before you kept your allies safe for the time being, but it won't hold. If something were to happen to the train itself, the mirage will fade as well. They are currently…" Then walking up close, Minoru whispered into Tanjiro's ear, before backing up and pointing towards the front of the train. "I leave the rest to you." Then the world before them vanished. As it did, the three boys noticed the sun beginning to set just below the horizon.


End file.
